Folk Art

Popular Art

“Neck-amphora”, 540

B.C.

By Exekias

“Dionysus Crossing the Sea

(on a kylix)”, 535 B.C.

By Exekias

“Achilles and Ajax

Playing a Dice Game

(on an amphora)”, 540

B.C.

By Exekias

Exekias

Artist

Humanizes Achilles and Ajax, heroes in war

Painted on an amphora, a vase for storing grain, etc.

Famous Potter in the Archaic era of Greece

Origin

Part of the Archaic Style of Greek Art

Seventh century BCE

More naturalistic than geometric patterning

Black-figure technique mastered by potters

Corinthian technique invented around 700 BCE

Animal friezes and mythological scenes

Diffusion

Sold in other parts of Greece, such as Athens

Relocation Diffusion

Exekias, a famous potter and painter from Ancient Greece, was part of the

Archaic style of Greek art in around the seventh century BCE. The Archaic style,

which expressed emphasis on naturalistic portrayal rather than the geometric

patterning of the art preceding it, saw the rise of the black-figure technique.

Originating from the Ancient Greek city of Corinth in around 700 BCE, the black

figure technique used dark slip, a mixture of fine-grained clay, as paint and

incisions for the portrayal of fine details. The Ancient Corinthians used this

technique to portray animals and mythological events. As merchants exported

Corinthian works to other parts of Greece through relocation diffusion, the

technique was adopted in the city of Athens. The Athenian use of this technique

led to the production of prolific vase paintings by artists such as Exekias.

“Three Machines”,

1963

By Wayne Thiebaud

“Wedding Cake”,

1962

By Wayne Thiebaud

“Pies, Pies, Pies”, 1961

By Wayne Thiebaud

Wayne Thiebaud

Description

Former sign painter and cartoonist

Thickly painted canvases of junk food and dessert

Origin

Began in Britain in the mid 1950s

Pioneered by a group of artists known as the Independent Group

Recognizes the role of material culture in contemporary society

Recognizable images obtained from popular media and products

Often used bright colors

Ignored the sophisticated and elite abstract art

Diffusion

Traveled to the United States in the 1960s

Developed as a response to the rise of consumerism in the post-World War II era

Expansion, contagious diffusion

Wayne Thiebaud was an early participant of the Pop Art movement in the U.S.

Pop art began in Britain in the 1950s to recognize the increasing role of material

culture in contemporary society. Pioneered by an organization of artists known as

the Independent Group, pop art was a deviation from the traditional, sophisticated,

and elite forms of abstract art. In the 1960s, it traveled to the United States,

where it enjoyed adoption in response to the rising sense of consumerism in post-

World War II America. Pop art generally spread through contagious expansion

diffusion through publication mediums such as newspapers. Wayne Thiebaud, a sign

painter and cartoonist, related pop art to the junk food of his childhood. He is

famous for his thick canvases depicting food items.

Like Exekias, Thiebaud focused on the naturalistic portrayal of real world

observations. However, while Exekias depicted animate figures, Thiebaud drew food

items.

Bibliography

Department of Greek and Roman Art. “Greek Art in the Archaic Period.” The Metropolitan

Museum of Art. 2011. Online. 14 November 2011. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/

hd/argk/hd_argk.htm>.

Georgopoulou, Theoni. “Black-figure vases.” Museum of Cycladic Art. 2008. Online. 14

November 2011. <http://www.cycladic.gr/frontoffice/portal.asp?cpage=resource&cresrc=

795&cnode=55>.

Gersh-Nesic, Beth. “Pop Art – Art History 101 Basics.” The New York Times Company. 2011.

Online. 14 November 2011. <http://arthistory.about.com/od/modernarthistory/a/Pop-Art-

Art-History-101-Basics.htm>.

McKeown, Heather. “Black Figure Technique.” University at Colorado Boulder. 2011. Online.

14 November 2011. <http://www.colorado.edu/classics/exhibits/GreekVases/

essays/techblackfig.htm>.

Wolf, Justin. “Pop Art.” The Art Story Foundation. 2011. Online. 13 November 2011.

<http://www.theartstory.org/movement-pop-art.htm>.

World Wide Art Resources. “Art History: Pop Art: (1958 – 1975).” World Wide Art Resources.

22 September 2009. Online. 14 November 2011. <http://wwar.com/masters/movements/

pop_art.html>.