Consumerism in Mid-Modern Pop Art: Is It Love or Critique?
Consumer Culture In the mid-20th century, art was directly impacted by commercialism and consumer culture. Art became accessible to almost anyone in the form of creation or consumption due to mass production. Companies used it to advertise and convince people that they needed more. Since the beginning of human life, we have survived just off the necessities. As time passed and technologies developed, we started to spend time creating and found ourselves wanting more. By the 20th century, advancements in all aspects of the world and the rise of credit/installment plans brought forth the age of consumerism. With economic prosperity and mass production, people worldwide started to purchase products beyond the necessities. Fueled by our desire to consume, our wants became our needs. ( Higgs ) Andy Warhol Background and Influences Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was a multimedia artist known as one of the leading artists in the Pop Art movement. In the 1950s, he started his career in art as a comme...