Unit 4 – Culture, Arts and Society · Pop Art

The final task you have to do is to write an opinion article on the relevance of art in
today’s society. Write about 150-180 words. Activities A and B will give you input for
Activity C.

Activity A

1. Look at these works of art. Write about 20 to 40 words explaining which one appeals to you 10 points

the most and why.

A B

Avaliação escrita e de listening

C D

2. Complete this text by building a word from the one given in brackets. 16 points

Andy Warhol is a (argue) the most important figure of American Pop Art. He
is b (wide) known for cool, detached works that borrow images from
television, c (advertise), and other mass media. He often found source
material in the d (package) of e (commerce) goods. With his
f (sculpt) of boxes, Warhol took a popular consumer item and elevated it to
the level of high art by producing large-scale trompe l’oeil (deceives the eye) versions
of the g (origin). Warhol silkscreened the Brillo logo and other product
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logos onto h (previous) manufactured, painted wood boxes, and stacked the
objects to mimic a supermarket product display.
Adapted from: www.artsconnected.org

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Unit 4 – Culture, Arts and Society · Pop Art

3. Rewrite these sentences without changing their meaning. Begin with the 12 points

words/expressions given.

a. Pop Art was inspired by everyday life. Most people didn’t really consider it a valid art form.

Due to…

b. Andy Warhol is a remarkable Pop artist. His artworks are worth millions of dollars nowadays.

Andy Warhol…

c. “I just happen to like ordinary things. When I paint them, I don’t try to make them extraordinary.
I just try to paint them ordinary-ordinary.” – stated Andy Warhol.

Andy Warhol stated that…

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Activity B
Read the text and do the tasks that follow it.

Materialism and modern art

In the 1960s, material objects and consumer goods crept into the world of art as never before. The
presence of well-known corporate symbols and mass-produced goods in modern art reflected the
commercialization of popular culture. Pop Art, as the movement is called, has been defined as having a
common concern with the problems of the commercial image, popular culture and metaphysical
5 disgust. The concern of Pop Art with materialism suggests a sameness of mass production, the common
objects of our affluent society taken out of context and scrutinized for their symbolic value.
In general, the Pop Art movement reflects the uncertainty with which consumer researchers view
materialism. On one hand, concepts like envy, possessiveness, and materialism have psychologically
negative implications. People who are materialistic have been found to have less self-esteem, more
10 conforming behavior, and so on. On the other hand, consumption is researched as a vehicle to express
ourselves, to explore and maintain our identities, and enjoy the good life. The artists who developed Pop
Art, using commercial objects, advertising themes, and consumer culture as their inspiration, also share
this ambivalence. Some of the work seems to glorify materialism, while other work supplies a devastating
critique of the affluent society.
15 Warhol’s work is most closely associated with Pop Art, and his themes are so blatantly commercial
that he stands in for much of commentary on the movement as a whole. So, analysis of Pop Art and
materialism naturally begins with Warhol. Two other Pop artists will be discussed briefly, Tom
Wessolmann, known for his still life series, incorporating brand images and female forms; and Class
Oldenburg, known for his soft sculptural forms of consumer goods. They and other Pop artists were
20 united in their recognition of consumer goods as expressive devices and a preoccupation with
manufactured objects removed from nature. Pop Art’s power stems largely from the symbolic
connotations of brands and products, symbols created by the ubiquitous and pervasive force of
advertising.
The question of approval or disapproval of consumer culture by the artists and their work is difficult
25 to answer unequivocally. The artists themselves seem to be making an anti-materialistic statement by
calling attention to mass banality – the innocent standardized products of our industrial society taken

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 Xplore · 12.º ano · Progress Check

out of context and revealed in their spiritual nakedness. However, Warhol claims that he painted Campbell
soup cans and Coca-Cola bottles because he consumed them every day and liked them. In the mind of the
viewer, Campbells and Coke serve as referential symbols, spewing meaning all over the canvas. Moreover,
30 companies like Campbells and Coke actively cultivate symbolic associations through advertising, of
course, but through other means as well.
Art allows us to go beyond basic questions of good or bad and reflect on the nature of our relationships
with consumer culture. In so doing, Pop Art in particular reflects and illuminates materialism.
Adapted from: http://nativeyouthmagazine.com

1. Match a section from column A to column B in order to build true statements according to 15 points

the text.

A B
a. Modern art became commercial
b. Pop Art attributes symbolic value
c. On a negative perspective,
materialistic people
1. are described as conformist and with low self-esteem.
2. glorify materialism and also offer criticism on our
materialistic society.
3. also enjoy the good things in life and easily express
themselves.

Avaliação escrita e de listening

d. Under a positive light,
materialists 4. to common objects of daily life.
e. Artworks belonging to the Pop Art 5. with the introduction of well-known corporate symbols
movement can and mass-produced goods.

2. Answer these questions according to the text. Use your own words as far as possible. 16 points

a. Which features characterise the works of Pop artists Tom Wessolmann and Class Oldenburg?
b. Explain where Pop Art obtains its power and strength.
c. How do artists explore standard products of our industrial society?
d. Why does Pop Art reveal materialism?

3. Identify what these words or expressions highlighted in the text refer to. 9 points

a. their (l. 6) b. which (l. 7) c. his (l. 15)

4. Explain the meaning of these expressions taken from the text in your own words. 12 points

a. The artists who developed Pop Art (...) also share this ambivalence. (ll. 11-13)
b. Pop Art’s power stems largely from the symbolic connotations of brands and products… (ll. 21-22)
c. … innocent standardized products of our industrial society… (l. 26)

Activity C
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Write an opinion article on the relevance of art in today’s society. Focus on ways art can 80 points

illustrate or represent positive or negative features of our society. Write about 150-180 words.
Use input from Activities A and B to help you.

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Unit 4 – Culture, Arts and Society · Pop Art

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Activity D – Listening
Audio CD 2 – Track 28

1. L isten to this text about Pop Art and fill in the blanks with the missing words. 13 points

Use between 1 to 3 words.

Pop Art – Inspired by the Everyday

It was in this climate of a , experimentation, and b that a

new generation of artists emerged in Britain and America in the mid- to late-
1950s. Pop artists began to look for c in the world around them,
representing – and, at times, making art directly from – everyday items,
d , and e . They did this in a straightforward f ,
using bold swaths of primary colors, often straight from the can or g .
They adopted commercial h like silkscreening, or produced multiples
of works, downplaying the artist’s hand and subverting the idea of i –
in marked contrast with the highly j , large-scaled k works
of the Abstract Expressionists, whose work had dominated postwar American
Art. Pop artists favored l , everyday (and even mundane) imagery, and
heavy doses of m and wit.
Adapted from: http://blog.bluezeppelin.com

2. Now listen to the recording again and decide if the statements are true or false. Correct the 17 points

false ones.

a. Pop artists didn’t pay much attention to the past.

b. The artists’ work combined different media, materials and techniques.

c. The main purpose of Pop artists was to create new meanings.

d. According to Andy Warhol, Pop artists use images that were difficult to recognise.

e. The technique of combining, scrambling and remixing images is still rarely used by
performance artists.

Test Specification
Activity A Activity B Activity C Activity D Total
1. = 10 1. = 15 80 13
2. = 16 2. = 16 — 17
200 points
3. = 12 3. =9 — —
— 4. = 12 — —

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