Lesson video

Hello.

My name is Mrs. Tipping, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today about new Pop Art through sculpture and mixed media.

We're going to do lots of thinking, talking, and exploring together in this lesson.

So, shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain the origins and key characteristics of Pop Art and how it influences artists today.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keywords.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The keywords we'll be using today are Pop Art, mass media, and mixed media.

I'm going to say those again and I would like you to repeat them after me.

Pop Art.

Mass media.

Mixed media.

Good job.

Now, let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean by taking a look at their definitions.

Pop Art is a modern art movement that emerged in the 1950s to '60s, using imagery from popular culture like advertisements, celebrities, and comics.

Mass media refers to the forms of communication, like TV and newspapers, that are used to reach large audiences, often influencing Pop Art themes.

And mixed media means combining different artistic materials like paint, collage, or sculpture in a single artwork.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

Here are two more keywords that we're going to be using today.

We're going to be using iconic and repetition.

Let's take a look at their definitions.

Iconic refers to something that is instantly recognisable and widely admired.

Repetition is the repeated use of elements, such as images, colours, or text.

Pause the video here to make a note of these last two keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson, Discovering Pop Art and looking at Pop Art today.

In this first learning cycle, we're going to have a look at exploring Pop Art.

So what is Pop Art? Talk to the person next to you.

What do you think it is? Pause the video here to have that discussion, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Well, this mural artwork here is inspired by Pop Art.

What do you notice about it? Well, Pop Art is an artistic movement that is inspired by popular culture.

The movement used everyday imagery like comic books, advertising, and celebrities.

Pop Art first emerged in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, and during this time, mass media, like TV and newspapers, were commonly used to reach large audiences and communicate culture, modern life, and consumerism.

Take a look at this street art here that's been inspired by Pop Art.

What can you pick out from those images there? Advertising through newspapers and television meant that new products could reach people directly in their own homes.

Consumerism means the buying and selling of products and goods.

And Pop Art reacted to the growing influence of mass media and consumerism.

Pop artists were fascinated by things people saw every day, including billboards, magazines, television, and packaging.

They believe this everyday imagery could be turned into art.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Where did the Pop Art movement first begin? France and Germany, United Kingdom and United States, Italy and Spain, Canada and Australia.

Pause the video here.

Give yourself moment to think about the answer to this question, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said the United Kingdom and the United States, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

Began in the 1950s and 1960s.

When it emerged, Pop Art was seen as a challenge to traditional ideas of art.

Pop artists showed that everyday life could be art.

They broke the rules by using popular imagery and mass production to challenge what people thought real art was.

Take a look at this mural artwork here that's inspired by Pop Art.

You see the different vibrant, bright colours and shapes and patterns.

Andy Warhol was an American artist and the leading figure of the Pop Art movement.

Warhol used screen printing to repeat famous, iconic images like soup cans and celebrities.

He wanted to make art like a product, easily recognisable and mass-produced.

Another leading figure is Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, who used bold colours and thick black lines to create paintings that looked like comic strips.

His work explored emotions and storytelling through popular imagery.

Can see an example of this comic style boom art that's being created here.

That's a bit similar to Roy Lichtenstein's work.

Pop Art often features bright, bold colours, also the repetition of images, celebrities or product imagery, flat shapes with clean, bold outlines, and also mixed media, for example, sculpture, painting, collage, printing, or drawing.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What is a key feature of Pop Art? The use of watercolour landscapes, quiet, neutral tones and abstract forms, hand-drawn portraits of royalty, or bright colours and images from popular culture? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about the answer to this question, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that a key feature of Pop Art is the bright colours and images from popular culture, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

This now brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to look at some examples of Pop Art and identify the repeating shapes, patterns, and symbols.

Then I'd like you to draw the repeating shapes, patterns, and symbols in pencil or pen.

So pause the video here.

Give yourself enough time to have a go at these two elements of the task, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Were you able to identify some repeating shapes, patterns, and symbols and have a go at drawing them? Well, maybe it looks a little bit like this.

You've got some shapes like these ones that have been drawn here, and Izzy says, "I looked at the work of a Pop Artist and found repeating symbols for love hearts, crowns, eyes, and an animal, and I drew these symbols in pen." Perhaps you did something similar to Izzy.

Maybe some of these symbols were the same as yours, or maybe you chose to do it in pencil instead.

Well done for having a go at this learning task.

This brings us to the second part of our lesson.

We're going to explore Pop Art today.

Pop Art continues to influence graphic design, advertising, and modern artists.

You'll find its bold style in memes, packaging, and social media.

You'll take a look at this digital artwork here that's been inspired by Pop Art.

You can see those bright colours and those thick outlines in black.

Pop Art is a reflection of popular culture.

This means that as times change, the influences and inspirations for Pop artists also change.

Pop Art often uses repetition.

Repetition means the repeated use of elements such as images, shapes, colours, or text.

Repetition reflects the idea of mass production, and this means goods being produced in large quantities in factories.

It also reflects the idea of mass media, the images being reproduced in newspapers and magazines or seen on televisions or adverts.

You can see this repetition here of a TV graphic.

So you got the repetition of an image, you also have a repetition of the different shapes and symbols within that image, and also it repeats in colour.

Imagine if Andy Warhol or Roy Lichtenstein were alive today.

What would they repeat or remix in their art? Well, Pop Art today might use emojis, selfies, social media, fast food logos, or digital technology.

Discuss with a partner something from popular culture today that could be used as inspiration for a Pop artwork.

Pause the video here and give yourself time for that discussion, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? What would you use as inspiration? Would it be a particular emoji, or maybe a fast food logo? Well, Aisha says, "There are some video game characters which are more famous than celebrities!" Lucas says, "Trainers are an everyday, familiar object in everyday culture." And Laura says, "Emojis communicate different emotions in a bold, graphic style like Pop Art." So maybe you thought of an idea similar to Aisha, Lucas, or Laura, or maybe you have your own idea.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Why did Pop artists use repetition in their artwork? To reflect mass production and advertising, they didn't know how to draw new things, to create optical illusions, or to make their art more expensive? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about the answer to this question, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that Pop artists use repetition in their artwork to reflect mass production and advertising, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

Pop Art uses and repeats familiar, iconic imagery to comment on culture, not just to copy it.

Artists choose their subjects carefully to reflect society's values and consumer habits.

Pop Art can be a celebration of popular culture or a critique of it.

Repetition in Pop Art isn't meaningless.

It makes us think about how mass media or advertising repeat messages to get our attention.

Over time, repeated images become familiar and recognisable.

This can make certain images become iconic.

Many Pop artists use mixed media, for instance, combining painting, collage, printing, drawing, and found images.

Today we can use similar methods, as well as use digital tools to experiment in new ways.

Take a look at this mixed media artwork here.

You can see that an image has been used, and then on top, different materials have been used, some paint, some pen.

Yayoi Kusama is a contemporary Japanese artist who is famous for using repeated patterns, simple shapes, and bold colours in her art.

Her installations create immersive environments which are influenced by the Pop Art movement.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What does mixed media mean in art? Only using paint, only working with digital tools, using different shades of pencil graphite, combining materials like collage, paint, drawing, and printing? Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your partner, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said mixed media means combining materials like collage, paint, drawing, and printing, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

This now brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to choose one simple shape and use repetition to create a Pop Art inspired artwork.

You might choose a geometric shape, such as a circle, triangle, or rectangle.

You might want to repeat the shape in different sizes, positions, and colours.

You might want to use stamps, stencils, sponges, pre-cut shapes, drawing tools, or digital art software to create this artwork.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at choosing your shape and repeating it in a Pop Art inspired artwork, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? How did you get on? What shape did you choose? Well, let's have a look at an example.

Jun here has painted and drawn circles in different bold colours and sizes.

He scanned them in and added dot effects to create this mixed media artwork inspired by Pop Art.

Take a look at that there.

Can you see the different sizes of those circles? You can see the different patterns in the dotwork effect.

So well done for choosing a shape and creating a Pop Art inspired artwork.

Maybe you did something similar to Jun or something slightly different, but chose those bright colours that are so recognisable in Pop Art and those repeated patterns too.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about the history of Pop Art.

Pop Art began in the UK and the USA in the mid-20th century and reacts to popular culture and mass media.

Pop Art often uses bold colours, repetition, everyday and iconic imagery.

Pop artists use mixed media and mass production techniques like printing to mass produce artworks.

Thank you for joining me this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.