By Annette Hinkle
With the general societal unrest we’re experiencing these days, along with unpopular military action overseas, and the Occupy Wall Street movement, shades of the 1960s seem to be entering the consciousness of Americans in 2011.
So perhaps it’s appropriate that Guild Hall would offer a show featuring Pop Art — an artistic movement that came to define the 1960s and ‘70s.
The show, which opens this weekend, is curated by Christina Strassfield and includes 21 pieces from Guild Hall’s permanent collection by seven artists — Jasper Johns, Chuck Close, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Larry Rivers, Andy Warhol and James Rosenquest.
In deciding what artwork to include, Strassfield explains that her parameters were limited to artists who had several works in the Guild Hall collection to choose from. She adds that each artist has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Guild Hall and many of them had a one person show at the museum at some point. Though both politically and socially, a Pop Art exhibit feels extremely relevant given the current climate, Strassfield confesses that this is an exhibition she has had on her mind for some time.
“I love Pop Art and it’s one of my favorite art movements,” she says. “I‘ve wanted to do a Pop Art show for a while and we do have a nice selection from the collection.”
Strassfield explains that the Pop Art exhibit is also offered as a juxtaposition to the art of Rafael Ferrer, whose work will be shown simultaneously in an adjacent gallery.
“A lot of his imagery is in tune with what people are feeling, and what he was exploring in his work, which is popular culture,” explains Strassfield. “I think it’s a wonderful companion to showcase Pop Art from our collection. It’s very resonant and something that people really seem to enjoy.”
When asked to touch on the highlights of the show, Strassfield points to “Summer Pregnancy,” an unconventional portrait of Jimmy and Gretchen Johnson by Larry Rivers, as well as a quintessential and colorful “Marilyn Monroe” by Andy Warhol (who of course had a place out in Montauk). There is also an unusual and less colorful version of Warhol’s famous Campbell’s Soup can on view.
“It’s black on black — you have to get right up on it to see it,” says Strassfield.
The work on view dates from a 1965 Rauschenberg to a Chuck Close piece from 2000 — and while Strassfield concedes that Close hasn’t traditionally been associated with the Pop Art movement, she feels his work fits into the spirit and style of the show.
“We have a wonderful image by Chuck Close of Philip Glass,” she says. “It’s made with handmade paper and is quite large – 68” x 52”. What’s great is when you’re standing further away it looks like a photo, as does his other work. But up-close you can really see the texture of the paper. It’s so tactile and a fabulous piece.”
But perhaps Strassfield’s favorite work in the show is Lichtenstein’s “Bull 1 through 6.” The series features the image of a bull that starts out very representational, but gets more and more abstracted in each successive version.
“It’s a fun piece and a fun exercise to see the transformation of the image and how the artist represented it,” says Strassfield. “It’s all done in this traditional style which I just adore.”
While the artists whose work is on view in this show were not only world famous in Pop Art circles, but local East End residents as well, Strassfield explains that the movement itself had its founding far from here.
“It’s thought of as being American, but Pop Art started in the U.K. in the 1950s, then came to the U.S.,” says Strassfield. “These artists were responding to the Abstract Expressionists and they wanted to make their own statement. Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns are thought of as precursors of Pop Art in America. Then Warhol and Lichtenstein followed through.”
As far what may have triggered the iconic imagery that grew out of the movement, Strassfield feels the artists were greatly influenced by the advent of television — which first began appearing in American homes in the 1950s and grew exponentially in the next decades. The events, marketing and movements of the time were suddenly broadcast to millions and became a shared experience.
“I think these artists wanted to bring popular culture to the forefront of society, which was changing,” says Strassfield. “There was the Vietnam war, the space race, the Kennedy assassination — and media was such a big part of it.”
Though it now belongs to an earlier generation, the parents or even the grandparents of those occupying Wall Street today, Pop Art seems to be one of those movements that continues to strike a chord with young people. Strassfield, who teaches at Dowling College, notes that when she shares the work of Abstract Expressionists with her students, they get it. But when she shows them Pop Art — they love it.
“I was showing them Lichtensteins and Warhols and they totally understood it,” she says. “It was that immediate. Just think of what Warhol would have done with Facebook.”
If Pop Art represented the shared experience of cultural imagery and media in the 1960s, then Strassfield believes today’s interconnectivity is doing a great deal to inspire the next generation of artists.
“Now people experience things so differently,” says Strassfield. “There are ‘happenings,’ the flash movement and everything is documented beyond what can you imagine.”
“As an artist, you can record yourself 24 hours a day. Artists are now aware of the longevity of things, while early artists were not thinking of preservation of the work. Now it’s such a business.”
So does that mean that Strassfield is ready to join those taking part in Occupy Wall Street to get a jump on the next artistic movement?
“I don’t know about that,” she confides. “It’s getting cold outside.”
Selections from Guild Hall’s permanent collection highlighting works from the Pop Art Movement opens Saturday, November 5 in the Woodhouse Gallery. A members preview begins at 6:30 p.m. and the public opening is from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Guild Hall (158 Main Street, East Hampton). Also opening in the Moran Gallery will be Rafael Ferrer “Contrabando,” a show guest curated by Esperanza León, and in the Spiga Gallery “Constructed Drawings” by Drew Shiflett, winner of the 2009 Guild Hall Members Exhibition, will be on view. All three shows run through January 16. Call 324-0806 for more information.
