:smiley: Bio:
Roy Lichtenstein was an American Pop-Artist, born in New York on October 7th, 1923. During the 1960's he was a significant figure in the Pop-Art movement that had recently budded after art had started to become influenced by consumerism culture. It is said that his inspiration derives from different comic strips, and adverts, with an aim to mock American pop-culture. Growing up, Roy's passion for both comic books and science was profound. In his teenage years, he took an interest in art, and from there on developed his art skills. During his university years, he had to pause the course in which he was studying, in order to participate in WWII. Post-war, he returned back home from Europe, and continued his university course, and took part in personal artistic endeavours.
During the 1940s, Roy portrayed his art in galleries all over America. In the 1950s, he took inspiration for his subject matters from American history + folklore, and mythology and incorporated them into his work using his own personal art style. Soon after, he started to experiment with different subject matters, methods of painting, and concepts which then led to his work being based on "Consumerism Culture" in America following similar ideas to Jackson Pollock and Willem De Kooning. The difference between Roy and other artists such as the two previously discussed is that Roy didn't create original art that resembled his emotions towards American Pop culture. Rather he took the picture from the original comic strip, enlarged it, and made it into a statement panel right down to every detail including the "Ben-Day" dots which were apart of the mechanical process of making comics, where the pages or had dots placed over figures or sceneries.
By the 1960s, he shifted his attention from painting comics, to art of the early 20th century that had been influenced by painters such as Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, and Picasso. He started to paint subjects of interior design, such as modern-type houses. The brushstrokes and the way he painted form using a cartoonish style, had stayed consistant. His signature work will forever be recognized and remembered through display in several places around the world; such as the Port Columbus Airport, and the Equitable Tower in New York City. Unfortunately, Roy had passed away on September 29, 1997, due to difficulties related to pneumonia. His work, and his bright mind and personality will live vicariously through his art, and he will never be forgotten.
