Pop Art and Scale
Color of Fresh, Deborah Czeresko (2019) - glass art created in the Blown Away Series
One of my favorite ways to play with Pop Art is to play with SCALE. Something small? Make it HUGE. Something big? Make it ENORMOUS. Give dental hygiene the Pop Art treatment with the most giant dollop of toothpaste coming out of a regular tube! Somehow, things become fun and humorous when they're shown out of scale, and it can be a great way to highlight little details in a big way.
GO BIG
Claes Oldenburg was a master of going BIG. His larger than life Pop Art sculptures are almost exclusively public art, as it was ideologically important to Oldenburg to make art accessible. He believed that seeing these sculptures on your walk to work or on the way to the grocery store would provide a profound enrichment to people’s lives. My nearby Philadelphia is home to more Oldenburg public art statues than anywhere in the world! I would pass “Clothespin” every time I got off the train to go to work, and I would often see “Split Button” when accessing the specialty Fisher Fine Arts Library and Architectural Archives on the University of Pennsylvania’s Woodland Walk. I can attest, these Pop Art sculptures absolutely have the power to brighten your day.
GOING BIG at HOME:
This vintage potato serving dish has stolen my Pop Art heart! I'm imagining potato salad or mashed potatoes in this giant potato dish and it brings the biggest smile to my face.
And these giant hand pillows by @happygwensday are SO fun! Throw pillows are such a great low-risk way to play with art in your home, and they add an element of levity to any space. If you have a lot of formal furniture, you can still incorporate elements like this! They help lift any style of furniture, and keep a room from feeling too serious or stuffy.
GO SMALL
While going big feels very natural to the Pop Art movement, there can be something delightful about making things in miniature! This spectacular wet floor sign by Bologna Sandwich Glass makes me unreasonably happy whenever I water this gnarly begonia. And these Mini Babybel cheese eraser prints by Colleen Warner take “mini” to the next level!
My own explorations in Pop Art and Scale will be available and displayed as part of the Gallery Show at the end of the month - The Pop Art Summer Fete. You can register here to come check them out for yourself! If you can’t make it or you’re not local, all available pieces from this show will go live on the website on July 31.
This Vintage Giant Crayon Bank will be a part of a diptych available on July 30th at the Gallery Show!
HOW WOULD YOU PLAY WITH SCALE?
What item would you love to see giant? Or tiny? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!
