Head - red and yellow 1962

Roy Lichtenstein made "Head - red and yellow" sometime in the 20th century. It's a large-scale painting of a woman's head, rendered in bold red, yellow, and white. Lichtenstein was a key figure in the Pop Art movement in the United States. Pop Art emerged in the 1950s and questioned the cultural and institutional norms of the art world by embracing imagery from mass media like comic books and advertising. Lichtenstein's signature style, seen here, mimics the Ben-Day dots used in commercial printing. The effect is to flatten and simplify the image, drawing attention to its status as a mass-produced commodity. In doing so, the artwork raises questions about the role of women in advertising and the nature of consumer culture. To understand Lichtenstein's work, scholars consult not only art historical texts, but also sources from the history of advertising, media studies, and gender studies.