Pop Art and Design

Pop Art and Design

This movement happened in the 1950s and became even more popular in the united states in 1960’s and lasted until the early 1970’s. This movement was created by the ‘’Independent Group’’ in London. The independent Group were a group of artists that attended the institute of Counterparty Arts.

This movement was inspired and appreciated the ‘’popular culture’’ such as television, movies and comic books.  Influences of Pop Art include of Dadaism, this is because pop art and Dadaism have similarities like using everyday objects and transforming them in something artistic.  Pop Art is also known to be the cause of change from Abstract Expressionism.  Pop Art is reproduced, duplicated and mass produced work. At that time of the movement everything was being mass produced, from foods to houses. Pop art used this happening as an inspiration and focal point. This movement liked to use bright colours, being yellow, red and blue, it also used clear lines, sharp paintwork, clear representations of symbols, objects and obviously the popular culture.

During the 1960’s as Pop Art was becoming quite popular it then also started to influence designers, this welcomed Pop Design. Some characteristics of Pop Design include of bright colours, basic geometry, large scale and unusual and bold designs.  Pop furniture was influenced by the issues happening at that time just like Pop Art. This movement had happened just after war, so Pop didn’t focus on creating products that were made out of good and expensive materials, instead they focused on materials that were easily found in people’s everyday surroundings.  Some Pop Design artist include of Eero Aarnio, Verner Panton and Quasar Khan. These artists were all influenced and inspired from the pop art movement.

Bocca Sofa

The Bocca sofa also known as Marilyn’s sofa, was inspired from the Mae West Lips Sofa by Salvador Dali. Studio 65 had designed the Bocca as a tribute for Dali. It was also inspired from Marilyn Monroe’s red signature lips.  The sofa was made in Italy and produces by Studio 65 in 1972. It was made out of soft expanded polyurethane and elasticized fabric cover. The Bocca chair is good example of pop design because just like pop art artists, they took a subject that was already used and made it into their own design with their own idea.  This Sofa has an unusual look to it because it looks very cartoonish for a sofa, but it still functions great as a seating sofa. It looks physically attractive with its’s curvy lines and perfectly shaped lip form. I think as a pop art piece it is both physically and visually successful.

The Bocca chair is being reproduced again under the hands of ‘’Heller’’. The chair is now being produced with different materials, that include of polymer plastic. The sofa now can be used in an interior space and also in exterior environment because the material is water and sun resistant. 

Salvador Dali's Mae West Lips Sofa 

 

The Bocca Sofa also know as Marilyn's Sofa. 

The Bocca Sofa now sold under the name Heller and produced in polymer plastic material. 

Inflatable Furniture

Other iconic furniture pieces that were designed during the Pop art movement are the inflatable furniture.  Blow up plastic furniture made a hit during this movement, this type of furniture looked new, interesting and appealing to the people, despite it being low durability and environmentally unhealthy.  Blow up furniture was very light to carry, easy to assemble and very affordable but still very chic. 

Blow, Inflatable Armchair. 1967, PVC plastic, Manufactured by Zanotta S.p.A., Italy, designed by Paolo Lomazzi

This was an advertisement in 1968 for a special offer from L&M cigarettes — blow-up pillows for only $1.

Quasar Khanh inflatable furniture being displayed on MoMA in NYC and the Louvre in Paris in the 1970s.

In 1969 Gateano Pesce produced a line of furniture that was constructed mostly from vacuum-packed foam. It would expand on it's own when released from it's box because air could go in. 

Record cover that was released in 1969.

In conclusion you can see how Pop art has influenced furniture designs that were used for everyday life. In some of the furniture you could see a clear reflection of Pop art in the designs.

Reference 

British independent group (psychoanalysis) (2015) in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Independent_Group_(psychoanalysis) (Accessed: 17 May 2016).

Adriana (no date) The influence of art history on modern design – pop art. Available at: http://www.pixel77.com/the-influence-of-art-history-on-modern-design-pop-art/ (Accessed: 17 May 2016).

2010 (2007) POP ART AND PRODUCT DESIGN. Available at: http://www.technologystudent.com/prddes1/popart2a.html (Accessed: 17 May 2016).

Perkovic, J. (2016) Pop designer Eero Aarnio retrospective at design museum Helsinki | Artinfo. Available at: http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/1374298/pop-designer-eero-aarnio-retrospective-at-design-museum (Accessed: 17 May 2016).

Studio 65: Heller Marilyn Bocca lip sofa in plastic (no date) Available at: http://www.nova68.com/HELLERBOCCA.html (Accessed: 17 May 2016).

SPLENDIA (2009) New on Splendia: July. Available at: http://blog.splendia.com/en/the-history-of-the-boca-sofa-2/ (Accessed: 17 May 2016).

Paolo Lomazzi, Donato D’Urbino, Jonathan De pas. Blow Inflatable armchair. 1967 (no date) Available at: https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/paolo-lomazzi-donato-durbino-jonathan-de-pas-blow-inflatable-armchair-1967 (Accessed: 17 May 2016).

Website, N. (2013) Blow up - Quasar Khanh’s Inflatable furniture – voices of east Anglia. Available at: http://www.voicesofeastanglia.com/2013/07/quasar-khanh-inflatable-furniture.html (Accessed: 17 May 2016).

Vitra design museum shop | miniature Bocca (no date) Available at: http://shop.design-museum.de/en/Miniatures/Miniature-Bocca.html (Accessed: 17 May 2016).

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