Once the art it was a cultural feat reserved only for the elites. If you wanted to see a work by someone like Manet or Rembrandt, you would either have to visit a museum or be lucky enough to have some works in your private collection. To some extent, this is still the case in modern times.
The vast majority of the world’s artworks are locked away in private collections or archives. In the mid-20th century, however, a new movement in modern art sought to bring art back into the hands of the masses, giving birth to the concept of pop art.
Paintings and sculptures on display in galleries and museums represent only a fraction of the world’s artworks, advertising and comic book artworks are far more prevalent in society, so why should they be considered any less art?
Andy Warhol is often credited as the father of the pop art movement but the Eduardo Paolozzi has serious claims to the title.
The first projects
Paolozzi found artistic inspiration at a young age, fascinated by cheap magazines, pulp and cigarette boxes, which contained amazing and colorful works of art. Soon, he began creating his own drawings and paintings, using these humble and mass-produced images as his main inspiration. Eventually, this led to him being accepted into the prestigious Edinburgh College of Art.
It was after leaving Edinburgh, while living in Paris, that Paolozzi really found his footing. Hanging out with Jean Arp, Georges Braque and Fernand Léger, the young artists soon found a penchant for Surrealism and Dadaism, which can be seen in the works he created during this period, including prop-assisted wax sculptures.
Surrealist influences
When he returned to the UK in the mid-1950s, Paolozzi developed these surrealist influences to which he had been exposed in Paris. Creating historical works that span many different styles and art forms, with the sculpture and collage to be particularly favorite genres.
In fact, his 1947 collage, I was a Rich Man’s Plaything, is often considered the first example of Pop Art, years before Warhol’s screen prints.
It seems clear that Paolozzi is, after all, the real father of the pop art movement. However, this title seems a bit much. After all, his work was much more than pop art. She was innovative and beautiful. He captured everyday life and reflected it back to us.
