|
Since August 2003 the
art of the American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein (1923 – 1997) has been
on the road in Europe. The tour started out at The Louisiana Museum of
Modern Art in Amsterdam and will finish, in September 2004, at the
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, in Madrid. I caught up with
the road show during its gig at The Hayward Gallery in London in the
spring of 2004.
The thing about the art of Roy Lichtenstein is that he took images
from everyday life, as depicted in the comic books of the 1950’s, and
turned them into giant paintings. Simple idea that: ‘any kid could do
it’ you might say. But there was a reasoning behind this simplicity as
is explained in the exhibition’s catalogue:
‘What Lichtenstein wanted to point out was how important it is for
modern man to know the difference between pictures and reality: if we
start to identify with all the pictures that are out there trying to
convey ideas and impose models, patterns of consumption, concepts of
beauty, criteria for success and objects of desire on us then we lose
our grip on reality. And that is why
Lichtenstein keeps on painting reality so that it looks artificial.
For only that way do we learn to recognize a model when we see one.’
The back drop to this month’s cover is taken from a 1964 painting
called ‘Kiss V’ which itself is taken from a book of cartoons. Now I
couldn’t have a cover with a cartoon without the images of our very
own cartoon characters The Sad Dylan Fans, from the pen of Mark
Carter, making an appearance. They are deep in conversation. About
what do you think? The cat suited lady in yellow on the left is ‘The
Bride’ from Tarantino’s latest masterpiece Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2
which are films containing many cartoon characters. And on the subject
of films, Jack Fate looks down and ponders what’s real and what is
not. On the other hand, he could have stopped trying to figure
everything out a long time ago!
|
