Artist 20: Tom Wesselmann

Tom Wesselmann was born in 1931 in Ohio. Not only did he paint, bu the was known for sculpture, assemblage, as well as collage. He was known to be a pop art artist, which is really the only other pop art artist I've known of beside Warhol. This goes to show that not all pop art is Warhol-esque, and that it comes in many shapes and forms and appearances, all pop art, yet distinct in their own way to stand out.

This piece, pictured here, is "Still Life #20," mixed media. This type of art reminds me of Dada, which, well, I hate. But I do not hate this! This doesn't seem to be mindless, but more random with a creative touch. It doesn't seem to have a purpose of "just 'cuz" but something more meaningful that the artist wanted to show the world. The bright colors really stand out and make the entire piece bold, and each piece is so different your eyes travel to each piece to see what is happening and to try and understand. It is very pop art, in my opinon, a great part because of the bread and coke pictures on the bottom right, as it seems very fiting for the time frame of which it was created. One of his major influences was Henri Matisse, one of my influences and most treasured artists. His style is evident in Wesselmann's art mostly in the bold colors and lack of detail. In other words, both of their styles are very bold and eye catching. Unfortunately, Tom Wesselmann died in December 17, 2004, he was 73.