The Start of the Pop Art Movement
Roy Lichtenstein, along with Andy Warhol, created the Pop Art movement. They’ve successfully utilized the appropriation of items from modern American culture and incorporated them into their works.
Lichtenstein’s paintings are featured in the world’s greatest art galleries and can fetch more than $150 million. His works have been recognized and acclaimed in the art world.
However, the comic artists he “appropriated” from viewed him as a plagiarist. Was he a great artist, a thief, or both?
Unveiling the story of the Original Comic Artists
Lichtenstein appropriated his paintings from more than 30 comic artists. WHAAM! BLAM! focuses upon two of the last surviving comic artists whose work was appropriated by Lichtenstein. Hy Eisman's (top) drawings for romance comics was copied for "Girl in Window," which was originally displayed at the 1964 World's Fair and now hangs in the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Russ Heath (bottom) and his work on World War II-related comics served as the basis of several Lichtenstein paintings, including "WHAAM!" which resides in the Tate Modern Gallery in London, and "BLAM!" which is in the collection of the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut. Both express their bitterness about the unauthorized use of their artwork.
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The documentary “WHAAM! BLAM!” provides these comic illustrators an opportunity to tell their side of the story. On the other hand, Lichtenstein’s side is defended with the help of biographers, scholars, and advocates.
Find out more about the story and the Art of Appropriation from our documentary “WHAAM! BLAM!” now.