Little Big Painting
| Little Big Painting | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Roy Lichtenstein |
| Year | 1965 |
| Medium | Oil and Magna on canvas |
| Movement | Pop art |
| Dimensions | 172.7 cm × 203.2 cm (68 in × 80 in) |
| Location | Whitney Museum of American Art,New York |
Little Big Paintingis a 1965 oil andMagnaon canvaspop artpainting byRoy Lichtenstein.It is part of theBrushstrokesseriesofartworksthat include several paintings and sculptures. It is located at theWhitney Museum of American Artin New York City. As with all of hisBrushstrokesworks, it is in part a satirical response to thegestural paintingofabstract expressionism.
Background
[edit]
Measuring 172.7 cm × 203.2 cm (68.0 in × 80.0 in),Little Big Paintingis part of the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art.[1]It was acquired by purchase.[2]The source for the entireBrushstrokesseries wasCharlton Comics'Strange Suspense Stories72 (October 1964) byDick Giordano.[3][4]Like the rest of the 1960s elements of the series, this work is a response to the Abstract Expressionism of the prior two decades and was interpreted as a "wry commentary" in the Whitney Museum's accompanying statement plaque for its inaugural exhibition (America Is Hard to See) at its new location in 2015.[2]
Details
[edit]Little Big Paintingis quite attentive to the "physical qualities of the brushstroke" relative to otherBrushstrokesseries works. It is an example of the use of overlapping forms rather than a single form or distinct adjacent forms, which seems to create a more dynamic feel to the shallow space.[5]However, since Lichtenstein does not uses shading or contrast, the monochromatic strokes with just bold black outlines are void of certain elements of depth.[6]However, the thick solid black lines surrounding the various uses of color resemble a comic strip style.[2]The carefully orchestrated paint drips mimick the spontaneous results of the gestures of preceding style.[2]The work contains no narrative, leaving just the comic book form of Benday dots presented according to a plotted outline.[7]Later Brushstrokes works such asBig Painting No. 6andYellow and Green Brushstrokesgo one step further in terms of canvas size and dynamic activity that was presented earlier inLittle Big Painting.[8]
Lichtenstein presents work that resembled the abstract expressionism that the contemporaneous viewing audience had become accustomed to seeing, however, his result is completely flat, without any trace of the brushstroke or the artist's hand. Meanwhile, the work references mechanical printing with theBen-Day dotsbackground, which enables Lichtenstein to parody his predecessors and make a "powerful abstract composition".[9]Although Abstract Expressionists in general considered their style as opposing popular culture, Lichtenstein's juxtaposition of theBrushstrokesagainst the mechanical process links the style to popular culture and results in a statement of the importance of mass media in the promotion of the style.[2]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^"Roy Lichtenstein: Little Big Painting: 1965".Whitney Museum of American Art.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-04-26.Retrieved2012-05-25.
- ^abcdeAmerica Is Hard to See Exhibition(Accompanying statement plaque).New York City:Whitney Museum of American Art.2015.
- ^Foster, Hal (2010). Francis, Mark (ed.).Pop.Phaidon.p.150.ISBN978-0-7148-5663-6.
Begun in the autumn of 1965, Lichtenstein's series ofBrushstrokepaintings was initiated after he saw a cartoon inCharlton Comics' Strange Suspense Stories.72 (October 1964). One scene shows an exhausted yet relieved artist who has just completed a painting. This depicts two massive brushstrokes that take up the entire surface area. The absurdity of using a small paintbrush to create an image of two monumental brushstrokes was explored in many different variations. Transforming an expressive act that was mythologized for its immediacy and primal origins into a cartoon-like, mechanically produced-looking image. Lichtenstein created a reflexive commentary on gestural painting.
- ^"Strange Suspense Stories #72".Lichtenstein Foundation.Retrieved2012-05-25.
- ^Waldman. p. 161.
Other works in this series, such asLittle Big Paintingconcentrate even more strongly on the physical quality of the brushstroke. The extreme magnification of the brushstroke, similar to the close-up imagery of the comic strip paintings, gives it added impact. The powerful thrust of the brushstroke is reinforced by its compact form. As a result, this painting more nearly approaches the kind of "glorious" brushstroke of the most significant gestural painters among the abstract expressionists.Little Big Paintingis one of several paintings—of which other examples are the large canvas of the same year,Big Painting No. 6(fig. 130), and the aforementionedYellow and Green Brushstrokes— in which Lichtenstein uses overlapping forms rather than centering one form or placing two side by side.
{{cite book}}:Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^Waldman. p. 161.
This arrangement of dense, impacted forms creates the illusion of active shapes in a shallow space; but because they lack any sense of relief or depth and have been reduced to flat colors and a single bold outline, without any subtle contrasts between light and shade, they read as flat forms on a flat plane.
{{cite book}}:Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^Rondeau, James and Sheena Wagstaff (2012). Rigas, Maia M. (ed.).Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective.Art Institute of Chicago.p. 50.ISBN978-0-300-17971-2.
- ^Waldman. p. 161.
InBig Painting No. 6andYellow and Green Brushstrokes,Lichtenstein dramatically enlarged the size of the canvas and increased the dynamic activity that was so much a part ofLittle Big Painting.
{{cite book}}:Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^"Roy Lichtenstein, Little Big Painting, 1965".Whitney Museum of American Art.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-04-03.Retrieved2012-05-24.
References
[edit]- Waldman, Diane (1993).Roy Lichtenstein.Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.ISBN0-89207-108-7.