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In 1988, at the PLA building in the Docklands, a group of young students at Goldsmiths College of Art put on a show entitled Freeze. ... The exhibition (held in a disused building that was due for re-development) was curated by their fellow student, and later art-superstar, Damien Hirst. Some of the artists that pulled together for this initial show included Angus Fairhurst, Angela Bulloch, Mat Collishaw, Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas, Richard and Simon Patterson, Gary Hume and Michael Landy. ... Names such as ‘high art lite’ (Stallabrass,1999), ‘new neurotic realism’ (Dick Price, 1998), and perhaps most obviously ‘new Brit art’ (Millard, 2002), have been tried but used to varying degrees of success and many critics refuse even to recognise the work as art at all (the Stuckist movement relegate Hirst’s work to taxidermy).
In this essay I am going to consider to how far an extent their work is comparable to the ‘pop art’ of the 50’s and 60’s. In 1957, Richard Hamilton created a list of the defining characteristics of Pop art: "Popular (designed for a mass audience); Transient (short-term solution); Expendable (easily forgotten); Low Cost; Mass Produced; Young (aimed at youth); Witty; Sexy; Gimmicky; Glamorous; Big Business"( in George Weinberg, New York Herald, 2004). How far can the ‘young British artists’’ work be described in the same way, and could they therefore be considered ‘pop’ artists? ... It is important to stress that the term Young British artist rather than simply referring literally to British artists under a certain age, describes a specific collection of modern artists that emerged in Britain in the late 80’s whose work was displayed in the Saatchi gallery from 1992 onwards. The label ‘yBa’ is merely ‘the advertiser’s most successful attempt. ... to name an art movement’ (Stallabrass, 1999:2).
Stallabrass in his book ‘High Art Lite’ (1999) claims that this label is inaccurate and consequently misleading as the artists are young in only the same way that the Monkees are young – ‘that is, they are no longer young and their youth was only ever for show (Matthew Arnett in Stallabrass, 1992:2). ... Stallabrass therefore prefers to use the term ‘high art lite’, this term aims to be descriptive of the output generated by the movement rather than a ‘useful logo’ (Stallabrass, 1999) of the artists themselves. However in doing this Stallabrass degrades the work inferring that the material it describes acts ‘as a substitute for art’.
‘Pop Art’ caused similar controversy and confusion in the art world. Warhol’s brillo boxes (just like YBa Michael Landy’s milkcrates) were perfect imitations of ‘real’ and common consumer goods. They have since become an icon of the pop art movement, however when they were first produced the director of the National Gallery of Canada declared they were not art at all, and hardly anyone bought them (Freeland, 2001:55).
Approximate Word count = 2311
Approximate Pages = 9.2
(250 words per page double spaced)
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