Art

There are three main different types of art, namely visual arts, performing arts and literary arts. All these three are distinct and each of them has different categories under it. Literary arts cover the area of poetry, novels, short stories and so forth performing arts include all genres of music and theatre and visual arts covers the area of paintings, sculptures, textile arts among others (Tilman 6).

This paper focuses on a type of visual art known as pop art. The paper will answer the question how does pop art celebrate or critique popular culture It will give relevant examples on whether pop art celebrates or criticizes popular culture. If it does both, then supporting examples will be given to illustrate how it has achieved both.

What is Pop Art
The concept of pop art was first used in the early 1950s in Britain but later on spread to other parts of Europe and the world (Tilman 6). Tilman further points out that pop art is not a one type of art style like poetry rather, it is a combination of various styles of visual arts whose main theme is about lifestyle and culture. Unlike abstract art, which appeared lifeless but with full of hidden meanings, pop art is realist. It expresses emotions with the scholarly and theoretical strategy. Pop arts take a cultural and imagery approach some examples include Japanese pop art, American pop art, and British pop art (Esaak, 2010).

Japanese pop art blends traditional aspects (art and animation) with modern features borrowed from American and British pop art. It also incorporates comic books, consumer products and popular cultures (Visual-art-cork). Just like the Japanese pop art, the British pop art draws its themes and techniques from fashionable mass culture. However, the difference between these two forms of pop arts is that whereas the Japanese form of pop art incorporates traditional aspects, British Pop art does not.

The American pop art mainly features commercial printmaking techniques like screen printing. It is a more inclusive form of art than the traditional art which was mainly abstract and also incorporated mass culture (Visual-art-cork). The difference between the American and British pop art is that the concept of British pop art came about after a group of artists opposed the modernist art, design and architecture in the 1950s. They were formally members of the Independent Group (IP). On the contrary, American pop art used visual details to express the face of the American culture (Massey).

Does Pop Art Celebrate or Critique Popular Culture
The invention of pop art has changed the way of business advertising. Most pop arts come in forms of bill board advertisements and television commercials which are fun to look at and informative at the same time.

Pop Artists and the American Culture
Auctions point out that most American pop art does not criticize the popular culture, but rather celebrates it. He sites Wayne Thiebaud as one of the artists who uses food stuffs like pies and sandwiches as well as toys and beauty products to portray the picture of the American society as well as celebrate it. This helped him earn a National Medal of Arts in 2001 from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters (A.A.I.A.L) (106). His works are still being celebrated in various museums and exhibitions in America. Apart from Wayne Thiebaud, another famous American pop artist is Andy Warhol, who is remembered for his artistic quote In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes (Esaak).

Andy Warhol celebrated American culture by developing the concept of printing (projecting) photographic images to a silk screen. In addition to that, he invented the concept of using common objects (tins, bottles, scrap metals) to portray art. One of his pieces, Green Car Crash, earned more than   36.3 Million when it was put on display (Esaak).

Stuart Davis is another pop artist who incorporated the use of modern materials like cigarette packets and spark plug advertisement to come up with a new form of pop art known as proto-pop art. Other great American pop artists are Robert Rauschenberg, Joseph Johns and Tom Wesselmann. They designed art that drew upon symbols and images found in the media (Esaak).

To the Americans, pop art is a reflection of their lifestyle therefore, pop art has helped the American to tell the rest of the world about the culture and way of living.

Pop Artists and the British Culture
British pop art was first put into practice in the early 1950s and since then it has been a dynamic form of art with new improvements coming up as years progress. The list of British pop artists who celebrate or criticize the popular culture is endless, and some of the great artists are highlighted next.

Lawrence Alloway As an art critic of different cultures, Lawrence Alloway helped in the development of both the British and American Pop arts in the early and late 1950s. He gave a positive criticism of the works of the great Paollozi and William Turnbull among others. Years after he left the Independent Group and passed on in1990, his reviews and criticism articles on various pop art works continue to be read (Massey).
David Hockney This British pop artist is famed for his popular pop canvas pieces of art like the Malibu (1986), Pool with Two Figures (1971) and Pearblossom (1986) among others. He mainly expresses his pop art using the canvas as the main surface and he has perfected this skill. As an artist, he has used pop art to celebrate the various cultural aspects of British culture and lifestyle. He has worked with the experienced Andy Warhol and this contribution to the pop art world has been great (Hockney). David is also an accomplished photographer and costume designer.

Another legend British pop artist was Richard Hamilton. As a member of the Independent Group, he bridged the gap between science and art in the organization. He is celebrated for the many exhibitions and his critics on pop art and also his Man, Machine and Motion exhibition he organized in 1955, which was as a result of his fascination of speed and travel (Massey).

During the invention of pop in Britain, the British were all over the world colonizing other nations however they successfully managed to use pop art to show their positive side. This helped them earn admirers in Europe as well as other nations around the world.

Apart from British and American pop artists, there are also artists from other cultures. For instance, Takashi Murakami specializes in Japanese culture especially animation and sculptures. One of his most celebrated works is the Otaku which is science fiction based. As a result, he chose to use animations as a way of expressing it (Murakami). It is good to note that Japanese pop art mainly focused on the cultural aspect of the Japanese, the artists strived to show case the Japanese culture that many people did not know and they have managed to do this.

Modern Pop Art
The evolution of pop art from 1950s has been progressing steadily. In modern world, pop art is mass culture and mass culture is pop art. The two are inseparable. This is referred to as media pop art. Some of media pop artists include Nicky Carvell, Adham Faramway and Nathan James (Praxmarer).

It is however important to note that there are different types of modern day (media) pop art cultures commercial, political and social. Each of these forms of pop art cultures when used by the curator conveys a different message to the public (Praxmarer). Praxmarer further observes that unlike the early years when the main centers of pop art exhibitions were museums and art galleries, the modern day pop art exhibitions can be visited in different ways. There are the Internet based exhibitions which include YouTube and other websites, and pop music concerts which provide entertainment and at the same time display pop art pieces.
The modern day exhibitions have enabled curators display their products without the need of moving them from one location to the other.  The change of pop art is as a result of innovations in technology (Praxmarer).
Advantages of Media Pop Art

Praxmarer states that the modern pop art has simplified the way ideas are expressed in comparison to the past. Some of the advantages of pop art include the fact that a media pop art curator is able to display a single piece of art to millions of people all over the world. This has been made possible by the use of Internet as a channel of communication. Secondly, the modern day technology can help the curator to modify or alter his works and come up with new variations of the same piece. Thirdly, it is easy and faster for the curator to sell his pieces through online bidding and paying. Finally, the media pop art has helped in creation of harmony between different cultures American, British, Japanese and so on.  Curators have been able to use the relevant techniques to come up with pieces of art that combine all these cultures and many more.

Limitations of Media Pop Art
The media pop art has its limitations too (Praxmarer). Some of which include the pint that conservative curators and pop art critics believe some of the pieces of work are undeveloped and shallow. This has been one of the main limitations facing media pop artists. In addition, there is also an increase in counterfeit pop art products in the market. This has hindered some curators from displaying and marketing their products since most counterfeit pieces of art are sold at cheap prices. This is mostly done by young, aspiring but inexperienced curators.

Impact of Media Pop Art on the Society
Apart from the advantages that pop art confers on the curators, the public and advertisers have also greatly benefited from these great inventions. Media pop art has helped in the growth and development of the entertainment and advertising industry since it is through the media that most curators are able to market their pieces (Massey).  The public on the other hand has had an easier time to view several artifacts on display, and for those who wish to purchase them, they can do so online.

The media pop art has played a great role in the creation of job opportunities. Unlike before where creating a pop art was based on talent and ability to paint and use the canvas or other medium, media pop art is based on computer knowledge and ability to use specific pop art making programs like Photoshop (Massey). This has enabled young creative entrepreneurs to come up with unique designs of artifacts. They are also able to convert the ancient hard copies of pop art into soft copy. This has enabled most art lovers to be able to view the pop artifacts that they would never have imagined seeing. However, most of them are just for viewing and cannot be purchased.

Pop artists and curators have also experienced some obstacles in their life of duty (Esaak). Lack of creativity is one thing that has watered down this process. Most artists design pieces that are flat and do not have the emotional touch. Most visual artist also cannot transform one idea into the other, that is, visual artists who have specialized in photography are not able to transform the photography into a physical model or pop art. This narrows down their client base.

Pop art has evolved from Andy Warhol to Nathan James. The impact of pop art has been felt in many quarters of the society.  Through pop art, different cultures have been integrated into one, the Japanese and the British have come together because of art.

Pop art has celebrated all these cultures for many years, although it has criticized some substandard pieces of art.  With the invention of new technologies and equipment, the future of pop art looks bright. Artists though need to be more creative and come up with ordinal ideas and pieces of work since imitation of someone elses work kills the core meaning of art  creativity and innovation.