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Lot Essay
Including: GEORGE BRECHT; ALLAN D'ARCANGELO; JIM DINE, Corner Brace (Galerie M. 17); STEPHEN DURKEE; LETTE EISENHAUER; STANLEY FISHER; SAM GOODMAN; RED GROOMS, Self Portrait in a Crowd (Kn. 13); ROBERT INDIANA, Err (S. 29); ALLAN KAPROW; ROY LICHTENSTEIN, On (C. 32); BORIS LURIE; CLAES OLDENBURG, Orpheum Sign (A. & P. 14.1); JAMES ROSENQUIST, Certificate (G. 1); GEORGE SEGAL; RICHARD STANKIEWICZ; WAYNE THIEBAUD; ANDY WARHOL, Cooking Pot (F. & S. II.1); ROBERT WATTS; and ROBERT WHITMAN
The International Avant-Garde portfolio is comprised of twenty influential, early prints of the American Pop Art movement. The artists represented each approach the conceptual framework of Pop from different stylistic angles, exploring various printmaking techniques and sources of imagery.
In the wake of Post-War prosperity and untethered economic growth, the United States emerged as a robust, consumer-driven society. Advertisements and media images announced the promise of a sleeker, shinier, and more efficient lifestyle. Amid this torrent of low cost glamour, a new mode of art making emerged, one that challenged the separation of fine art from mass produced culture.
Warhol's first published print--the photo-engraving, Cooking Pot--depicts a found image from a newspaper advertisement. Mechanical, modernized production yielded identical products, such as cooking pots, which Warhol admired for their uniformity and precision. This factory mechanization is echoed in printmaking--specifically photographic screenprinting--which enabled Warhol to manipulate and replicate images from popular culture.
Thiebaud's wry portrayal of lollipops--an etched image of hand-drawn origin--similarly challenges the perceived discrepancy between unique, handmade objects and factory-produced consumer goods. In a markedly more nostalgic interpretation, Thiebaud highlights the lollipops with exaggerated shadows in the manner of an advertisement, using repetition to reinforce their status as objects of mass consumption.
Thiebaud's irony is subtle. The kitschy familiarity of lollipops evokes an emotive response that is reinforced by the hand-drawn aesthetic he employs. In contrast, Warhol's bolder celebration of consumerism --characterized by bright colors and crisp lines--approaches a more literal replication of mass culture. In both instances, the printmaking medium perfectly showcases the artist's representation of American abundance.
The International Avant-Garde portfolio is comprised of twenty influential, early prints of the American Pop Art movement. The artists represented each approach the conceptual framework of Pop from different stylistic angles, exploring various printmaking techniques and sources of imagery.
In the wake of Post-War prosperity and untethered economic growth, the United States emerged as a robust, consumer-driven society. Advertisements and media images announced the promise of a sleeker, shinier, and more efficient lifestyle. Amid this torrent of low cost glamour, a new mode of art making emerged, one that challenged the separation of fine art from mass produced culture.
Warhol's first published print--the photo-engraving, Cooking Pot--depicts a found image from a newspaper advertisement. Mechanical, modernized production yielded identical products, such as cooking pots, which Warhol admired for their uniformity and precision. This factory mechanization is echoed in printmaking--specifically photographic screenprinting--which enabled Warhol to manipulate and replicate images from popular culture.
Thiebaud's wry portrayal of lollipops--an etched image of hand-drawn origin--similarly challenges the perceived discrepancy between unique, handmade objects and factory-produced consumer goods. In a markedly more nostalgic interpretation, Thiebaud highlights the lollipops with exaggerated shadows in the manner of an advertisement, using repetition to reinforce their status as objects of mass consumption.
Thiebaud's irony is subtle. The kitschy familiarity of lollipops evokes an emotive response that is reinforced by the hand-drawn aesthetic he employs. In contrast, Warhol's bolder celebration of consumerism --characterized by bright colors and crisp lines--approaches a more literal replication of mass culture. In both instances, the printmaking medium perfectly showcases the artist's representation of American abundance.