Pop Art and Photorealism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pop Art and Photorealism - Essay Example Photorealism, although a product of the much larger pop art movement during the 60s, had another aim during creation. The artists first took photographs of a place or event and then back in their studio the artist replicated the photo onto canvas. The paintings coming from photos were highly realistic and appealing. These artists differed from traditional pop artists in that they did not use already published material and superimpose it to a painting. Instead, the painter was intimately familiar with the location as the painter was also usually the photographer. Photo realism was not about the mockery of life, but more the enjoyment and wonderment of the ordinary. Anything could be ordinary, but when looked upon a different way, it became something new. While pop artists were able to use relatively any media for their paintings, photo realists had a specific set of rules on what constituted a photorealism painting. These five guidelines set about what it meant to be an originator of the movement. Due to these rules, only a select few could be considered founders of the movement. Artistic movements evolve and die out as new methods present themselves. Pop art, while extremely popular during the 1960s, has faded from popularity. Photo realism, on the other hand, gained popularity with its lifelike paintings and representations of life. Many remember Andy Warhol, while there are not that many photo realists that are household names. This is due to the fact that what pop artists did caused people to remember for days.