POP ART AND MYTHS

Exhibition Title :  Pop Art Myths
Venue Name : Temporary Exhibition Galleries, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. Ground floor.
Website : Thyssen's website
Venue Address: Museo Thyssen- Bornemisza 
                            Paseo del Prado,28014 Madrid
Exhibition Dates: 10 June to 14 Septembre 2014 + virtual visit.



Three years ago, in 2014, the Thyssen museum offered an exhibition on Pop Art movement called "Pop Art Myths". Yet thanks to the technology, I was able to see this very interesting exhibition. Actually, I really like this art movement because Pop Art is for me one of the most liberating movements in the history of art. Besides in painting daily objects, ads , or popular actors or actresses, pop art has reintegraded art in the real world. In the exhibition "Pop Arts Myths" you will see many artworks painted by very famous pop art artists. It's a pretty good opportunity to discover or rediscover, for the pop art experts, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein or Wolf Vostell and many others...Yet, the curator of Thyssen Museum chose to focus his exhibition on a particular angle. He related pop art and myths. Why?  For example, by cinematic close-ups Warhol immortalized the prematurely  deceased Marilyn Monroe transforming her into an object of veneration. Marilyn Monroe became a real myth.  
In my opinion, this exhibition is aesthetically apealling and gives us un global vision about this art movement. 



As literature student I have some interest for art in general. However I definitely like mythology and stories about Ulysse, Achille, and many others heroes of the antiquity. Therefore I'm a hudge fan of the saga books called Percy Jackson  by Rick Riordan. What I love in these books is that they modernize the myhthology in transposing heroes and gods in our time. To me, pop art allows also  the modernization of a myth : a traditional, typically ancient story, revolving auround the activities of gods and heroes, wich purports to explain a natural phenomenon or cultural practice and serves as a fundamental type in the world view of people.

THE MYTH OF NARCISSUS VIEWED BY ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Look Mickey, Roy Lichtenstein 1961

First of all, we can't deny that Pop Art movement connects tradition with our time using new artistic means derived TV advertising, or comics. Actually it was the Americans Andy Wharol and Roy Lichtenstein who turned comic strips into large format-painting. Look Mickey, Lichtenstein's first pop painting certainly appeared in order to enlarge panel from a Disney's comic book.  I would like to point out the fact that during its golden era, Hollywood was a real myth-making machine that could explain why characters like  Donald and Mickey are suddendly used by pop art artists. Yet,  Look Mickey also embodies the myth of Narcissus. 

Narcisse et Echo, John William Waterhouse, 1903, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.

Story of Narcissus : Narcissus, in love for his own image died conteplating his reflect in a source during years. When he died, yellow flowers grew and had been named narcissus. 











The painting : What catches the attention in this painting is the omnipresence of  yellow that obviously remember the story of Narcissus. There is yellow all around Donald and Mickey, at the background and on the bridge. Besides, we can notice that Donald is the only character represented with yellow. (its beak, its legs and parts of its jacket) Thus, it is quite clear that Donald embodies the character of Narcissus.

However, its position in front of the water is more relevant than the colour yellow to admit that it is Narcissus. Tilted head on the river, Donald seems very proud of himself when it says "Look Mickey , I've hooked a big one! "while they are fishing. It could represent a kind of vanity for Donald that is close to fall in the water. 

But why Roy Lichtenstein has chosen to represent Donald and Mickey? He could paint only Donald... In my opinion, I would say that is to make a reference to Echo, the nymph who was in love with Narcissus. She tried to warn him during years because she knew that he was going to die. So Mickey could represents Echo, this voice behind Narcissus trying to save him. 

I think that in using comic strips Roy Lichtenstein has demystified  the tragedy of Narcissus. In my opinion, this kind of situation is something very common. Who has never been proud of himself? Who has never thought that he was thinking better than an other? And it doesn't matter if we recognize these parts of us. Thanks to Mickey and Donald, the ego-tragedy of Narcissus takes an other dimension : more fun, more common and less tragic.