Online art courses Pop Art: Past and Present

The online art courses of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao offer accessible yet rigorous training in key concepts and topics in the history of modern and contemporary art, addressed from current perspectives. Drawing on the participation from experts in specific fields, these courses are inspired by the Museum Collection and its dynamic exhibition program.

Pop art was an art movement characterized by a return to representation, drawing inspiration from sources in popular and commercial culture—hence the name of the movement. Emerging in Britain in the 1950s, Pop art flourished in America in the 1960s, where a sudden boom in the economy triggered the growth of consumerism. Some of the artists in the Pop art movement reacted by incorporating images from mass culture and using techniques that emulated (or parodied) industrial production. Pop art drew on billboards, commercial ads, films, television, pulp magazines, comic strips, or even shop windows.

This course offers a broad overview of the relevance of Pop art and its various manifestations in the international art scene, its main representatives, and its influence on contemporary art practices.

Objectives

This online course is aimed at:

• Analyzing the keys to the most salient characteristics of Pop art, as well as the social, political, economic, and cultural background that led to its emergence and development internationally.
• Exploring the work of the leading Pop artists, including several women, and their most iconic creations.
• Showing the influence of Pop art on other forms of culture beyond the visual arts, e.g. music or fashion.
• Understanding the legacy of Pop art and its influence on contemporary art from a 21st-century perspective.

CONDUCTED BY:
José Lebrero Stals, culture and art manager, exhibition curator (link to CV)

Structure and Contents 

Language
Spanish

Duration
The course will be available online for three months. Participants will be able to access the course wherever they are, progressing at their own pace. Upon completing a module, they will be able to move on to the next one.

Target Audience
People over 18 who are interested in broadening or updating their knowledge of modern and contemporary art or getting a few key references on this art movement. No prior knowledge required. Members of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Community will have priority over other applicants to access the 50 places available.

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