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Log in now. Specifically, materialism is reflected in today's affluent society by the consumer culture and the urge to buy and possess goods cf. Advertising is a primary vehicle promoting materialistic values, encouraging self-fulfillment through consumption and materialism. Moreover, it plays a leading role in 'perpetuating the mechanisms and ideology of consumption" Mamiya, , p Belk's grounding discussions of materialism with examples of literary, anthropological, and philosophical evidence provides a basis for turning to art in studying the concept Belk, , Indeed, he suggests that art offers a useful medium to study materialism Belk, Not only can art serve to illustrate materialism, artistic expression is a vehicle to generate knowledge and theory about consumer behavior.
Belk cites literature, comics, painting, photography, etc. Art and science do differ in their methods, biases, and purposes, Belk insists, but there is much more overlap than is usually thought.
He concludes this paper by suggesting that uses of art in research "are attempts to draw on art as data for evidence to vaJidate a point or to provide a thicker, richer description' Belk, , p. Art and esthetics is described by other writers in an attempt to circumscribe a field of inquiry within consumer research.
Esthetics within the consumer context usually refers to a response to a sensory stimulus produced by media, entertainment, or the arts Holbrook, What sets these responses apart is an appreciation of the stimulus for its own sake. Painting, then, enjoys a esthetic reaction due to its existence as a end in itself, rather than a means to some other end.
Esthetics and our perceptual systems are integral to our understanding and appreciation of art cf. Arnheim, ; Lucie-Smith, ; Yenawine, The present study was sparked by attendance at two major art exhibits showcasing the Pop art movement of modern art. The first exhibit was entitled "Made in U. The notes of the curator, Sidra Stich, made clearer what the artists were trying to accomplish and why this art had reached such widespread fame Stich, In these art exhibitions, the themes and questions that the artists and curators were struggling with seemed extremely similar to those that attract consumer researchers.
The methods, training, and outlook of the two groups, artists and researchers, may be quite different, but the underlying issues they attack are indistinguishable. Pop art has been succinctly defined as "a movement with its roots in the late s, Pop art has endured and proliferated since. The" appropriations examine the look, content, and effect of. They also question the values and communication system of 'high culture' by juxtaposing it with 'pop' mediums The Pop movement was, in part a reaction to the current dominant form of painting of the day, Abstract Expressionism, which focused on the inner imagination of the artist and the technique of creating art.
In contrast, Pop artists drew from the popular culture in achieving an easily recognizable and reproducible art form. Unconcerned with painterly style and brushwork, many Pop artists utilized mass production techniques in their work.
Depicting material goods and consumer artifacts was not entirely now to the art world. The history of painting is replete with examples of scones of wealth, possessions, and display e. Berger, In the twentieth century, Picasso stunned his followers by incorporating bits of common objects like newspapers and ropes in his work. Stuart Davis foreshadowed the Pop artists by painting brand images in the s.
What set Pop apart is the critical and commercial success of a group of artists, all having a common concern with the problems of the commercial image and popular culture Mashun, The movement began in the s with artists like Richard Hamilton and Jasper Johns depicting common objects for maw consumption in their art.
Pop art exploded in the s to become the dominant style of the period. Early critical reviews were mixed at best, but museums, collectors, and the press were infatuated with this vibrant, accessible art and the highly quotable artists who produced it see Mashun, , Pop art remains one of the major movements of twentieth century art. One fitting indicator of the movement's stature is the fact that seven out the top ten highest prices paid for contemporary art were examples of Pop art Mamiya, Whereas Pop does not hold the dominant force it commanded in the s, artists are still exploring Pop's theme and major retrospective exhibitions are held regularly e.
In addition, the most well known Pop artists, such as the late Andy Warhol, have become celebrities in their own right cf. Garrels, ; Smith, Andy Warhol was trained in commercial art at Carnegie Institute of Technology now part of Carnegie Mellon University and started a successful commercial art career in New York during the s. His early work drew its inspiration from comic strips and advertising slogans. His first huge success resulted from the Campbells Soup can series, which attracted widespread attention and notoriety e.
Stuckey, ; Swenson, , Other works of this period include the Coca-Cola series, consisting of repeated images of Coke bottles, Brillo boxes, reproductions of actual commercial shipping containers, and celebrity portraits. He also produced many films, books, and advertisements through the 70s and 80s, achieving a stature few 'serious' artists attain Mamiya, Warhol's work is most closely associated with Pop art, and his themes are so blatantly commercial that he stands in for much of commentary on the movement as a whole.
So, analysis of Pop art and materialism naturally begins with Warhol. Two other Pop artists will be discussed briefly, Tom Wessolmann, known for his still life series, incorporating brand images and female forms; and Class Oldenburg, known for his soft sculptural forms of consumer goods. The" and other Pop artists were united in their recognition of consumer goods as expressive devices and a preoccupation with manufactured objects removed from nature Uppard, Pop art's power stems largely from the symbolic connotations of brands and products, symbols created by the ubiquitous and pervasive force of advertising.
The question of approval or disapproval of consumer culture by the artists and their work is difficult to answer unequivocally. However, Warhol claims that he painted Campbell soup cans and Coca-Cola bottles because he consumed them every day and liked them Garrels, ; see also Johnston, In the mind of the viewer, Campbells and Coke serve as referential symbols, spewing meaning all over the canvas.
Thus, to use only the artists statements and motivations in researching meaning in Pop art is only part of the story. Scholars disagree whether Pop art represents social and cultural criticism e. Cooks, ; Eco, ; Hughes, , or reinforces and supports the consumer society Mamiya, Other critics insist that searching for positive or negative attitudes in Pop art oversimplifies issues and misses the point Mashun, Art allows us to go beyond basic questions of good or bad and reflect on the nature of our relationships with consumer culture.
In so doing, Pop art in particular reflects and illuminates materialism, as described by Beik As in consumer research, the socio-cultural context of Pop art cannot be overlooked in any analysis cf. By using common consumer objects, the Pop artists draw on pro-existing forms of communication: advertising, symbols, mass production, etc. Forty, Taken from their usual context, these symbols attain special meaning, and serve to redirect the viewer to now linkages and as associations.
Scrutiny of the Pop art can illustrate how artistic expression serves to 'mediate, contradict, perpetuate, or reinforce ideological claims presented by consumer culture' Marniya, , p. Far from criticizing or distancing themselves from materialistic culture, Pop artists "embrace the encroachments on art by media arts such as advertising, comics, film, and television, and packaging while examining their visual language, their exercise of power and their language' Eco, , p.
Only in the context of social and cultural values can Pop art be understood and appreciated. This is why the works of Warhol, especially his Campbells and Coke pieces, have been so notorious and successful; these products are among the highest in brand equity, and evoke extremely strong feelings in people. Advertising encourages self-expression through consumption and materialism, playing a leading role in perpetuating the mechanisms and values of consumer culture Marniya, Therefore, Pop art not only represents the modem consumer landscape, but also reinforces materialism.
Pop's stillifes are themselves visions of the good life. In addition, museums, often considered a refuge from commercialism, become extensions of the consumer ethic. Pop art was one of the first forms of "high" art to be widely available to the public through printmaking and the press.
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