Pop & the Popular

As a critical term, ‘Pop’ is closely associated with the namesake art movement that rose to prominence in the early 1960s, producing some of the best known works of twentieth century art defined by the mundane copying and ironic appropriation of the subjects, materials, and everyday imagery of popular culture.

From the perspective of our contemporary moment, Pop Art has since been assimilated into the art historical mainstream—taking its place in the annals of art history and the halls of prominent museums of modern art around the world. What then is the relevance of Pop Art today? Shorn of its shock value and with the novelty of its aesthetic strategies reduced to worn out effects that today register as derivative, or worse merely decorative and banal, how can Pop Art transcend these limitations and avoid reverting to pastiche and cliché? What do we mean by ‘Pop’ in the digital age of globalisation and social media, and how do we differentiate Pop from simply ‘Popular’?

With this in mind, Pop and the Popular examines recent developments in contemporary Caymanian art, identifying key traits and thematic connections in the work of artists who demonstrate an affinity with the stylistic characteristics and subject matter typically associated with a Pop art aesthetic. In drawing these threads of connection between diverse artists working in a variety of media, the exhibition seeks to map the conditions of a distinctly Caymanian expression of ‘Pop’ rooted in the visual landscape of contemporary Cayman: vibrant, saturated colours; the use of reclaimed and recycled materials; the clash of the old and the new, and the erosion of cultural traditions in the face of globalisation and the homogenising influence of American consumer culture. The use of parody and humour, as well as the inherent potential for commentary on contemporary socio-political issues, have likewise both emerged as defining aspects of this prevailing aesthetic tendency.

While seeking to define the characteristics of this emergent trend, Pop and the Popular also looks to address questions of personal and collective identity by examining the ways in which artists explore their conception of self through their identification with culture both locally and globally, acknowledging the ways in which identity is ultimately mediated and shaped by broader, transcultural trends.