Modular painting with four panels, #2 1969

Editor: Here we have Roy Lichtenstein's "Modular Painting with Four Panels, #2" from 1969, created with acrylic paint. The interlocking shapes and varied textures create a visually arresting experience. It’s giving off some serious Op Art vibes! What’s your take on it? Curator: Immediately, I'm drawn to the materiality. Lichtenstein’s appropriation of Ben-Day dots, blown up to this scale, isn’t just aesthetic; it’s a commentary on industrial production and mass media's influence. What about the modularity? How does the work’s construction as discrete panels speak to the idea of reproducible art? Editor: That's fascinating! So the use of modules hints at mass production, sort of like the Warhol's screen prints? Curator: Precisely. Consider acrylic paint, too – a synthetic, relatively new medium at the time. Its even application, resisting the artist's 'touch', emphasizes a focus on the readymade. Think of how it shifts the concept of artistic labour. Is the "artist's hand" even visible? Where is the physical interaction from the creator? Editor: So, it's almost like he's highlighting the commercial printing process while simultaneously creating "high art". But isn’t that contradictory? Curator: It’s a deliberate contradiction, playing with the boundaries of art and commodity culture. What's interesting to me is how these "low-brow" means were consumed and valued by an elite art world. It really highlights the inherent socioeconomic complexities within the pop art movement itself, don’t you think? Editor: Definitely food for thought. I always thought Pop Art was just about the surface appeal. Curator: Well, next time look beneath the dots. There is often social commentary regarding both labour and consumption!