Art has numerous forms and each of its form time and again has touched the hearts of millions of people. Art is the way of expressing the innermost feelings of an individual in a unique way, it could be dance, singing, acting, or even painting. The art of painting has evolved with the gradual evolution of mankind, right from the Paleolithic age when man probably did not know what words were, they knew how to paint on the walls of the caves. Painting today has evolved to what is known as Pop Art, which finds complete justice in the works of Peter Max, is slowly gaining popularity and being appreciated across the globe.
The original artists of this form of painting include names such as Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselman, and Roy Lichenstein. They could be called the maestros in this form of art and it was by their efforts that painting managed to see the outside world, that is to say, painting made its way out of the four walls of the galleries and high-end buyers to the more mundane common man’s house. They made it easily accessible to the Americans of the times which carries on even to this day.
Carrying forward their tradition very earnestly is Peter Max, an extremely dedicated and celebrated artist especially on the social media and the internet such as facebook. His paintings are in great demand on online shopping sites and very decent rates. One of his book The Universe According Peter Max, truly showcases his artistry and presents before the viewer a completely different view of the universe to behold.
His use of the vibrant colors rightly captures the spirit of Pop Art , it is the use of such colours, bold and dark outlines and of course a playful content of the popular culture that makes it so attractive for the masses at large. The Golden Age of the Pop Art movement was seen between 1958 and 1975, and it came to be known as one of the biggest movements in the history of painting of the twentieth century. It was Lawrence Alloway who coined this term ‘Pop Art’ in order to suggest a break from the then normal ‘elite’ form of art.
Pop art which is rather lively and colorful was the result of slowly growing antagonism towards Abstract Expressionism, a form of art that preceeded it. This abstract form of art was difficult for people to understand, it was serious and was way too spiritual, in short, it could not predict the emotions and sentiments of the younger lot of people. Consequently, a more relatable form of art that depicted every commonly understood things such as advertisements, comic strips, and even media images came to the fore. This is how Pop art evolved and is still gaining impetus through the works of artists like Peter Max. in fact, Pop art is responsible for the birth of two other new schools of painting, the color field painting and the minimalist art.