The revival of the pop culture of the ’60s has taken on a new face. Generation X has embraced many aspects of the culture; just look around campus. There are people wearing tie-dyed shirts, listening to the Beatles and forming rallies and sit-ins to protest.
Now there is a way to embrace another element from this inspiring culture: art. The St. Louis Art Museum just opened a new exhibition titled Pop Impressions Europe/USA: Prints and Multiples from The Museum of Modern Art. This exhibition originates from The Museum of Modern Art in New York and is making its way across the United States and even into Canada before ending in May 2002. The Saint Louis Art Museum (www.slam.org) is hosting the exhibit from June 23-September 3 and it promises to be more than the normal art exhibit.
The exhibition starts with proto-Pop pieces by artists who abandoned the abstract style that was popular in the `50s and instead took everyday objects as their subject matter. Jasper Jones, Robert Rauschenberg and Christo each fall into this category.
The style that blossomed from these artists is a mixture of real-life works and dramatic pieces that were closer to the earlier abstract style. Be sure not to miss Rauschenberg’s “License” (1962) and Christo’s “Look Magazine Empaquet?” (1965).
The exhibit then moves through Mass Media, with pieces from Andy Warhol and Richard Hamilton. One of the most interesting pieces from the exhibit, Hamilton’s “My Marilyn” is in this section. This piece was created from a collage of Marilyn Monroe’s rejected publicity frames.
Next, the exhibit explores Consumer Culture. Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein brought a critical eye to American new material culture. During the time that these pieces were created, the suburbs were growing and nationwide highway networks were being constructed.
From this came increased attention on the automobile in the form of advertisements. Aggressive advertising ensued and the consumer culture gained a new importance. Many of the pieces in this part of the exhibit, such as Warhol’s “S&H Green Stamps” (1965) help to more fully describe what influenced the daily life of a middle-class American family.
The exhibit then closes with sections devoted to Politics and Erotica (after all, this was the `60s). These categories are instrumental in balancing the exhibit and making it a full and accurate array of pieces from the ’60s.
This exhibit is like a magnet for many art lovers, but because of its rich history and strong sense of diversity, it will easily entertain anyone who is interested in pop culture from one of our countries most unique decades: the ’60s.
