POP ART

HISTORY

- 24/09/2021-

You've probably already seen a Marilyn in all her shades printed by Andy Warhol, or one of Roy Lichtenstein's colorful creations. Pop Art is inspired by everyday life, but it also became a part of our daily lives. Contracting the words "popular" and "art", this phenomenon that lives up to its name was born in London in the 1950's. It was at this time that the English art critic Lawrence Alloway first introduced the expression to name this new contemporary art movement that mixed science fiction, technology, advertising, design and everyday objects. 

Fueled by popular culture, the madness of this art initially takes hold of Great Britain, carried by artists like Eduardo Paolozzi and his fanciful collages like I was a Rich Man's Plaything where he makes the word "Pop" emerge from a smoke cloud coming out of a gun, or Richard Hamilton who notably imagined with Paul McCartney the cover of the Beatles' White Album.

"I was a Rich Man’s Plaything"
Eduardo Paolozzi
"Still Life with Goldfish"
Roy Lichtenstein

But it was in the United States that the movement really took off in the 1960s, building itself in a consumerist context with and against the mass production system. The techniques of collage and assemblage were a real success with the artists of this pop generation, but the diversity of styles is infinite, and each one finds its way to divert the symbols of popular culture. Among the most famous artists we can mention Andy Warhol who became famous thanks to his silk-screening work, or Roy Lichtenstein who made the use of the screen dot (or Benday dot) his trademark. 

However, the Anglo-Saxons are not the only ones to laugh at everyday life by transforming it into art. In France, the sculptor César, who notably realized a Coca-Cola Compression, has often been linked to the movement. We can also think of the Brazilian Claudio Tozzi, the German Peter Klasen and many others...

"Compression Coca"
César
"Multitude"
Claudio Tozzi

Today Pop Art is still everywhere. It has become a source of marketing inspiration in a curious return to its origins, its aestheticism and vibrant colors have also invaded the world of professional graphic designers and the decoration industry. Like an infinite loop of consumption, Pop Art sells itself and makes it sell, an ironic wink to a contemporary society that likes to see itself diverted in colors. 

In short, as Umberto Eco said "in Pop Art, Kitsch is redeemed and elevated to a new state of aesthetic dignity." These words could just as well describe the LAPS spirit. Our quest for inspiration for our watches has brought us to the crossroads of styles, arts, trends sublimating the abstract, cultures, the popular, or the kitsch. It is in this spirit that Social and People were born, our two new models that look like a work of Pop Art using the "benday dot" technique in a bluish monochrome version.