Standing Explosion (Red)
Standing Explosion (Red)
Artist
Roy Lichtenstein
(1923 - 1997)
Date1965
MediumPorcelain enamel on steel
Dimensions38 x 25 x 30 in. (96.5 x 63.5 x 76.2 cm)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2010.8
Signedon leg, in black paint: Lichtenstein / 66
Accession number
2010.8
On View
On viewLabel TextBANG! WHAM! POP! The angular outline of this sculpture derives from the shapes of explosions in comic books. Roy Lichtenstein drew heavily from comic book images in his paintings and sculptures of the 1960s and 70s. Like his paintings and their comic book sources, Standing Explosion (Red) uses bold primary colors and heavy outlines. The perforated sheets of steel mimic the look of Benday dots—the technique used to print images in comics.
Like his contemporaries Andy Warhol and Tom Wesselman, whose works appear nearby, Lichtenstein was interested in how images from pop culture shape a shared American consciousness. Their art emerged in an era increasingly dominated by the rise of television and advertising, and came to be known as Pop Art.
