Roy Lichtenstein – a true artist Essay Example

famous for his controversial comic strip paintings. This phase lasted from 1961 to 1965 before he began exploring other subjects like landscapes, mirrors, interiors, and eventually, sculptures. Waldman notes that Lichtenstein's process for creating comic strip paintings involved selecting a scene from a science fiction comic book, sketching the composition, and then creating the final artwork.

After sketching, Lichtenstein utilized a machine to project the drawing in the desired size on the canvas, after which he traced it. A metal screen was placed on the canvas to produce simulated photoengraver's dots, a unique feature added by Lichtenstein to his paintings. He spread oil paint over the screen with a roller and used a small scrub rush to rub the paint through the holes. Any undotted sections of the image were masked with paper. Following this process, Lichtenstein added black outlines and painted in the letters, a technique referred to as "the Benday-dot screen technique," commonly used in advertising. Notably, the balloons contain text that may not be directly from the original comic strip but words chosen by Lichtenstein, often with underlying meanings. (Waldman 23, 57)

This characteristic of Lichtenstein's paintings, which blend drawings and text, sets him apart as a unique artist. The balloons were not merely included to replicate the source material; they added an extra layer of depth and allowed viewers to imagine the past and future of the characters depicted. Some critics maintain that Lichtenstein's approach to art relieved him from having to make conventional decisions regarding elements like composition, proportions, style, and color. Those unfamiliar with comic strips even mistook his works for replicas of their sources and refused to acknowledge them as

true art.

Despite not requiring the same drawing skills as Monet's water lilies, a Lichtenstein painting involves careful selection of a specific comic strip image from hundreds, as well as clever modification of the original. Roy stated that he rejects a hundred images for every one he chooses. Thus, color, proportion, and style are crucial factors in the creation of his art. These decisions held even more weight for Lichtenstein as he constantly had to defend the classification of his paintings as art.

Lichtenstein felt that he had to select a unique and fresh subject matter to depict in his art. Otherwise, people might view him as a copyist rather than as a genuine artist, specifically because his drawing skills did not necessarily require a high degree of development. In response to the claims that he merely imitated existing images, Lichtenstein once stated that his objective was not to reproduce pictures but rather to reconfigure them. He aimed to make minimal alterations, although sometimes he would work from multiple original cartoons and combine them. His approach might range from making his drawing almost identical to the source material to devising it entirely from scratch, depending on the situation.

The debate on whether Roy Lichtenstein's artworks are considered as art or not is pointless according to Madoff's views (198). Lichtenstein never believed that his creations were anti-art, instead, he perceived them as art, although they might resemble industrial objects. As per Walker (34), Lichtenstein believed that one should approach art as something they love doing. E.M.

According to Forester's paper "Not Looking at Pictures", the act of looking at pictures is a difficult task. He and his friend Roger Fry

frequently visited art galleries, but struggled to find the structural significance in the paintings on display. This experience is shared by many, including myself. Art is a challenging thing to view. However, it should not be defined solely by art critics, collectors, or museum officials. Rather, it should be defined by everyday people like us, who purchase paintings that we can connect with and appreciate rather than those with technically excellent compositions.

Art is the embodiment of beauty, a concept that is subjective and dependent upon the observer. What sets artists apart is their ability to recognize and appreciate beauty in seemingly mundane things. This is precisely what Lichtenstein accomplished.