A James Rosenquist retrospective
Eight months after James Rosenquist's death, Museum Ludwig shows the American pop art icon's key works in Cologne. Some of the paintings have never been displayed in Germany.
From sign painting to art
In 1959, James Rosenquist painted "Astor Victoria" — the name of a New York movie theater where he worked as a billboard painter. The background is done along the lines of Abstract Expressionism, a style popular back then. Rosenquist used leftover billboard paint for his artwork, and also used letters for the first time.
Birthplace of pop art
Change and new beginnings were in the air in the early 1960s. James Rosenquist was part of a group of artists working on graphic art in studios at the very southernmost tip of Manhattan. They didn't turn to nature for inspiration, but instead painted the everyday objects that surrounded them. The art world was shocked by canvases showing ordinary, mundane objects.
Opposition to war
James Rosenquist was politically active, protesting against the Vietnam War. His XXL paintings may have been inspired by advertisements, but he used his art to criticize politics. His larger-than-life formats and the glaring colors he used helped his message get heard.
Rosenquist's first pop art paintings
Rosenquist studied art in Minnesota from 1952 to 1954. In 1955 he took a few classes in New York with George Grosz, a German painter who had immigrated to the US in the 1930s. In 1961, Rosenquist completed his first pop artwork: "Zone," a close-up of a woman's face combined with a tomato, an oil painting in shades of grey. Tears glitter on the tomato's skin.
President of pop
Rosenquist is quoted to have said that John F. Kennedy was a walking advertisement. His painting "President Elect," from 1960, unmasks the new US President's self-marketing by juxtaposing consumer products with a painting of a Kennedy campaign poster: a politician's empty promises?
Inspired by ads
Life magazine was an important source of inspiration for Rosenquist. He turned this cigarette ad featuring Joan Crawford into a painting that obliterated the sales message, focusing on the actress and her contrived facial expression.
Colorful horizons
In the 1970 installation "Horizon Home Sweet Home," Rosenquist set up vertical colored panels and used a dry ice fog on the ground. Visitors to the Cologne museum can also experience the legendary installation, wading through white vapors and mirrored in the metallic panels.
Enormous size
This gigantic 1980 painting is entitled "Star Thief," and it's best viewed from a distance. Rosenquist used XXL formats to exhaust the limits of perception. From afar, these paintings are clear, razor sharp images, but seen close up, the images blur. The exhibition "James Rosenquist: Painting as Immersion" runs through March 4, 2018 at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne.