Pyramids 1969

Roy Lichtenstein created 'Pyramids' using screen printing, a process that bridges high art and industrial production. Screen printing, traditionally used for commercial purposes, involves pushing ink through a stenciled screen to create multiple identical prints. This challenges the idea of the unique, hand-crafted artwork, and embraces the aesthetics of mass production. The print's clean lines and uniform dots, achieved through mechanical reproduction, remove the artist's hand, resembling the Ben-Day dots of comic books. This mechanical reproduction is what gives the image its cultural significance, turning pyramids—ancient symbols of labor-intensive construction—into a simplified image. Lichtenstein’s choice of process and material, in addition to his graphic style, ties 'Pyramids' to wider social issues of consumption, challenging traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.