Dimensions: image: 562 x 435 mm
Copyright: © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: This is Roy Lichtenstein's "Explosion," held in the Tate Collections. The image size is 562 by 435 mm. Editor: It hits you, doesn't it? The composition, the bright, bold colors – so graphic. Curator: Lichtenstein's use of Ben-Day dots is fascinating, a comment on mass production and the industrialization of artmaking. Editor: But it is more than that. It's about how popular culture shapes our perception of even something as visceral as destruction. Curator: Precisely. Museums frame art within systems of value. Lichtenstein questions where that value truly lies. Editor: What strikes me is the flattening of something dynamic into a static image. It speaks volumes about our relationship with these events. Curator: Indeed, Lichtenstein’s work provides an insight into production and the politics of art. Editor: An explosive conversation starter, certainly.
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tate about 2 months ago
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/lichtenstein-explosion-p01796
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tate about 2 months ago
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Beginning in 1962 Lichtenstein borrowed images of explosions from popular war comics for use in his paintings. The subject embodies the revolutionary nature of Pop art and suggests the very real threat of annihilation by nuclear explosion that was prevalent at that time (the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in 1962). But Lichtenstein was also interested in the way dynamic events like explosions were depicted in the stylised format of comic book illustration. This print incorporates many of the hallmarks of his early painting style: flat primary colours, Benday dots, outlines and schematic drawing. Gallery label, September 2004
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