POP ART ICON - ANDY WARHOL

"Once you got POP, you could never see a sign the same way again.  Once you thought POP, you could never see America the same way again"  Andy Warhol

We can't spend a week on  pop art as muse  without spending some time with the leading figure of Pop Art, Andy Warhol, who was in fact the most successful and most highly paid commercial illustrator in New York City before he became synonymous with Pop Art.

"How can you say one style is better than another?  You ought to be able to be an abstract expressionist next week, or a pop artist, or a realist, with out feeling you've given up something.  I think that would be great, to be able to change styles.  And I think that's what's going to happen, that's going to be the whole new scene"  Andy Warhol

"During the hippie era people put down the idea of business, they'd say 'money is bad', and 'working is bad', but making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art"  Andy Warhol

 
Andy Warhol had his first N.Y. solo Pop Art exhibition in 1962, which included his Marilyn Diptych, 100 soup cans, 100 coke bottles and 100 dollar bills....BTW I don't show them here because none are favorites of mine, but they can all be easily googled if you are interested.



"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself"  Andy Warhol

 He created some of the most recognized works ever produced, making Andy Warhol one of the first artists who's art appealed to the general public, thus challenging the very definition of fine art. Whatever you think of his work, Andy Warhol was certainly a pioneer, and hugely influential to the modern art world. There are certainly a few artist's as celebrity working today, Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst come to mind, but AW was the first.





 "Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it"  Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol and his Pop Art bridged the gap between high art and popular culture making art fun and enjoyable for most.  Thank you Mr. Warhol.

"I am a deeply superficial person"  Andy Warhol

You've got to admit, the man was funny.





We hope you've enjoyed Pop Art week.  Be sure to join us on Monday when we introduce a new muse of the week.

Have a beautiful weekend everyone.
YANCEY

POP ART COLOR IN THE KITCHEN

 Today I want to show you what I found while hopping all over the Internet looking for happy inspiration.....

This is actually NOT vintage, it was designed in 2007.  Raise your hand if this makes you want a fruity cocktail with an umbrella, like now.

 The following two pictures are of kitchen cabinets designed by Karim Rashid, whom you may remember from  braxtonandyancey.blogspot.com/2011/04/karim-r...

I'm not at all certain I like these, but I do admire the boldness.

"Diet Pop Art" instillation by artist T.J. Mobery

The following pictures are of colorful kitchen gadgets I would love to have......fun!

Colorful stripes on a cutting board by Joseph-Joseph.

When we were in Europe, Braxton and I noticed all the kitchen shops had colorful plastic gadgets, intended for adults.  They seem to be getting more popular in the states now, but still not easy to find.  I've had the best luck on the MoMA website.

Kids kitchen tools from Fiesta.

Found on Sur la Table.

This colorful hand mixer (and the following four products) are from Cuisinart.  I had no idea Cuisinart was doing such great colors!  Swoon.
Sorry for the somewhat fuzzy pics. but I really wanted you to see these.

The mother of all kitchen tools.....the Kitchenaid stand mixer.....now in apple green! and lots of other fun colors too.

This adorable plastic juicer can be found in the MoMA gift shop, home to lots of colorful fun goodness.

What are you favorite kitchen gadgets?  Are they colorful?  I love my wooden spoons, which I use multiple times a day, but my favorite kitchen tool has to be my Kitchen Aid mixer, which I'm embarrassed to say is white. I know, what was I thinking?

Have a beautiful day.
YANCEY

POP ART IN FASHION

 Let's begin by taking a peak at some fashion that definitely rocks the Pop Art theme.

Brought to the U.S. in the 1980's by the Sanrio Company, Hello Kitty has become a world wide symbol of popular Japanese culture.

I love how this girl has paired her Pop Art t-shirt (is there any image more "Pop" than Marilyn Monroe?) with yellow eyeshadow, green nails, and my God what is she wearing on her legs?

Can you see the names on the bottom of these shoes?  The one on the left says Katy and the one on the right says Perry.  Where do I get some of those?  With braxton and yancey of course.

Lip Rings.  Very expensive lip rings I might add.

Lisa Perry and friend (daughter maybe?) in LP designed dresses.  No one does Pop Art fashion like LP.

This may not technically be Pop Art inspired, but I do so love this.  I'm pretty certain that
 my beloved Jonathan Adler has also been inspired by this design, remember his pillows?

Katy Perry's Muppet dress.  I just realized that the background here would indicate that KP has made some sort of Pirate Porno, am I crazy?  How did I not know about this?

Something about his face just lends itself to Pop Art.

This dress would definitely not flatter me, at all, but I do love it.

 Now let's look at some fashion that seems to have been inspired by Pop Art.
  Anyone who's read a fashion magazine lately is familiar with color blocking which is the pairing of two or more bold bright colors.  You know I love color....so naturally I love this trend.  What are your thoughts?

For those who wish to start slowly with color blocking I would try super colorful shoes with an otherwise neutral outfit.  These blue/green booties would obviously look great with black.  Later you could add a bright pocketbook (like the one below) and keep it going from there.  According to Lucky magazine....when it comes to color blocking, more is more.

A casual outfit based on color blocking........

 ....and a fancy one too.

I love that she adds a shot of red here with her stockings.

 Do you think that these looks require an abundance of confidence?  Or does wearing happy bold color give you confidence?  Either way its a win, right?

Have a beautifully colorful day!
YANCEY

POP ART IN DECOR

Can we talk about the child like quality of Pop Art?  I can imagine some of you are thinking... that's exactly why Pop Art isn't appropriate for the living room.  It's certainly true that Pop Art adds a jolt of youthful color and humor to a room, and why not, that's the point.

 When Braxton and I redecorated our house in a mid century modern style we definitely embraced the chance to bring saturated toy like color into our lives.  From the row of candy colored art glass on the fire place... to the colorful polka dots on the curtains... to bright silk pillows (not to mention their huge buttons) on the sofa and chairs... our house looks like it belongs to people who own a toy store (which we did) rather than a couple of empty nesters on a budget.  And we love it, really love it.
When you decorate/redecorate your own home it can be an opportunity to explore the boundaries of appropriate style and the fun, colorful, youthful house you really want.  Please don't make choices based on what your MIL would approve of, or your neighbors, or the editor of your favorite decor magazine whom you will probably never even meet, have fun.....for you....you deserve it.  Pop Art is a great place to start....

The next few pictures are examples of actual Pop Art used in room decor....just to get us started.

Can you imagine how cool these parents must be?

Love the Pop Art Beatles...but my God the wallpaper!

From a site called sugarluxe.com ....lots of groovy stuff.

Now lets check out what happens when Pop Art becomes a muse.   These next few pictures are full of bright saturated pop art color and child like whimsy....



A Nelson Marshmallow sofa @ Designwithinreach....now in Pop Art color!!!



 No Pop Art to be found, but notice the incredible cartoon quality hot pink walls, black sconces and shiny black stairs....I think Warhol would like it here.

No human being would ever stack books like that. 



The Union Jack....a classic Pop Art symbol.



This fantastic thing is actually a glass hanging lamp.

Can you see the possibilities here?  I hope I've inspired you to rethink the use of bright saturated color as seen in Pop Art.  Shiny Happy People deserve Shiny Happy Decor.

Have a beautiful day.
YANCEY