Impacts of Consumerism and Society on Modern Art
There is no precise description of modern art. It remains an elastic word which accommodates a variety of meanings since human artistic skills are continually evolving with time. Consumer culture, however, is a type of material culture that is expedited by the market, which thus creates a certain relationship between the consumer and the goods, in this case, modern art. The culture came to sociological prominence in the late 18th century and late 19th century. The birth of consumerism culture can be traced back to after the end of World War Two (Aaker, 1982). During this time, America’s economy was recovering from depression. Jobs were available, and wages were increased, and the ration became more stable economically. The economy was bustling, and people were spending immensely on luxurious goods. From consumer culture, then came Pop Art; this is an artist whose content included popular culture. This paper aims at discussing how consumer culture and society shaped the art during the 1900s.
After World War Two, people began craving for social status as there was no more fear and political unrest. Consumers wanted to achieve perfect standards of status, so they stocked their houses with appliances and electronics, for instance, ovens and televisions. The shift in consumers preference meant that designers had to create more goods to reach their needs. The socio-economic changes during this period had a significant effect on the taste and preference of people. Products were made according to one’s class. The upper-class individuals purchased antiques and heirlooms that matched their social status, whereby the middle class opted for commodified goods. Commodified goods, commonly referred to as “kitch” goods were a representation of consumerism at the time as people began buying obsolete items as opposed to collecting antiques as they did a decade ago.
The shift in consumer demand for produced goods changed producer or designer motifs. They started emphasizing on an object of emotional, physiological and social role. It is from this shift that pop culture arose. The art took a modern approach to different individuals in groups. It became so popular among the youth generation as it was classy, trendy and sexually appealing. Although it was controversial, pop art became the most successful art. In order to understand how consumerism impacted pop art, there are some of these artists who played a very significant role. Some of them include; Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist and Robert Indiana.
Andy Warhol is a recognized pop artist. His art mainly focuses on popular culture. He has worked with several big companies such as Coca Cola and Campbell Cans. Also, famous artists like Merlyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy had a taste of his work. After 1960, the number of people who watched films, sitcoms and concerts drastically increased. Most of Warhol arts revolved around celebrities because he loved the idea of Fame (Drumond). Warhol stated that great thing about the culture of America is that both wealthy and middle-class people consume the same goods. Warhol mostly painted about consumer goods. During this time there was a radical change in social, political and economic systems and his idea about consumerism wasn’t a bad deal at all.
James Rosenquist and Robert Indiana were also two pop artists who significantly influenced pop art. James career began after he quitted his job where he worked as a billboard artist in his art “I love you with my Ford”. James expressed the people’s urge and involvement in buying more automobiles as they could now afford them. He expresses the power of sexual suggestion in order to trick people into buying these cars. Robert Indiana used word art to represent his past life. His creativity in itself is a consumer product. Therefore, consumerism transform pop which changes drastically always to meet people’s requirements.
To conclude, the pop artist was greatly influenced by consumer culture and social needs. The designers had cop up with the needs of the consumers; this leads to the production of more fine arts. Consumerism also affected pop art because more families were worried about keeping up with the new developments. There was a production of a new advertisement every day through televisions, radios and newspapers. Many artists used it at the art to express the idea of mass consumerism and show people what they always see in advertisements.
Work Cited
Aaker, David A., and George S. Day, eds. Consumerism. Simon and Schuster, 1982.
Doss, Erika. “Catering to Consumerism: Associated American Artists and the Marketing of Modern Art, 1934-1958.” Winterthur Portfolio 26.2/3 (1991): 143-167.
Harrison, Sylvia. Pop Art and the Origins of Post-modernism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Drumond, Arianna. “POP ART: ANDY WARHOL.”