Pop Art Qualities
This list was produced by Richard Hamilton in January 1957 as part of a letter to Alison and Peter Smithson in 1957:
"Suppose we were to start with the objective of providing a unique solution to the specific requirement of a domestic environment e.g. some kind of shelter, some kind of equipment, some kind of art. This solution could then be formulated and rated on the basis of compliance with a table of characteristics of Pop Art.
Popular (designed for mass audience)
Transient (short term solution)
Expendable (easily forgotten)
Low Cost
Mass Produced
Young (aimed at Youth)
Witty
Sexy
Gimmicky
Glamorous
Big Business
This is just a beginning. Perhaps the first part of our task is the analysis of Pop Art and the production of a table. I find I am not yet sure about the "sincerity" of Pop Art. It is not a characteristic of all but it is of some - at least, a pseudo-sincerity is. Maybe we have to subdivide Pop Art into its various categories and decide into which category each of the subdivisions of our project fits.
What do you think?"
The complete letter to Alison and Peter Smithson can be found here: http://www.warholstars.org/warhol/warhol1/andy/warhol/articles/popart/hamilton.html (accessed 07/01/2023)
Richard Hamilton (1957)
Richard William Hamilton CH (24 February 1922 – 13 September 2011) was an English painter and collage artist. His 1955 exhibition Man, Machine and Motion (Hatton Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne) and his 1956 collage Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?, produced for the This Is Tomorrow exhibition of the Independent Group in London, are considered by critics and historians to be among the earliest works of pop art. A major retrospective of his work was at Tate Modern until May 2014.
There is a brilliant book covering the full scope work of Richard Hamilton’s work, it is written in a really relatable tone and looks at the works in relation to what was happening around the artists at the time of creation.
This will generally be the format of the Monday newsletter, a manifesto (or piece of art history writing) then a bit of blurb about person or movement concerned.
Though it could also have a book review tagged onto the end occasionally.
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Excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Hamilton_(artist) retrieved 07/01/23