The World Goes Pop

This is an unusual book in that it covers Pop Artists well beyond the typical artists associated with Pop. It was well-received by a very avant garde couple.

Despite its colorful jacket design, between its covers, this book seems like a reclamation project. With photos of the artists dating from the period examined (the late 60's and early 70's), and a clumsy section of artists' responses to a questionnaire form ( oddly, many of the artists involved do not identify themselves with the pop art movement ) this book has a retro feel. The Tate Modern Gallery put together this survey exhibit to expose the global reach of pop art, a movement which rippled around the world much like the psychedelic pop which arose in the Summer of Love. Artists outside of the tandem of America and England responded with their own interpretations, adding some indigenous spins. Few of the artists are household names, although Judy Chicago and Marisol Escobar are included. It's hard to argue with the book's main thrust---that pop was integral in ushering in the postmodern esthetic, worldwide. Though some of the art has a dated look, it is easy to see that the "vocabulary" in use still has currency. Many of the artworks wouldn't look out of place in the bimonthly publications of "New American Paintings", indicating that young artists are still working (some would say slavishly) under the parameters established in the late 1960's. Among the featured artists, the Icelander who calls himself "Erro" stands out. Back in the day he produced political paintings in a style that helped him to slide seamlessly into today's pop surrealism ( surveying all of the featured artists online gives a much fuller appreciation of their talents). Other artists who obviously carried influence, even though they weren't at the center of pop, included Ushio Shinohara and Jana Zebleska. Long ago the Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz said that for art to move forward, it needed to "embrace the immature". That sentiment came to fruition with the pop art movement, which nevertheless opened the doors to an explosion of creative possibilities for artists. On the downside, maybe it wasn't so wise to welcome the sanction of outright kitsch. There are only a few examples of kitschy art in this book, including Zebleska's crude paintings of noses and breasts, augmented by window dressings. Even so, her installations from the period were amazing.

Fantastic book which has been the catalyst for further investigation into many pop artists that appear until now to have flown under the art worlds radar. This is about as pop as a pop art book can get and if you've already seen the myriad books on the subject then treat yourself to something new and refreshing pop fans! Highly recommended, I wont ramble just get yourself a copy.

Solid book!

Really excellent book - very refreshing to focus on pop artists other than the mainstream ones (Warhol, Rauschenberg)