The art of the sixties brought numerous ideas, concepts, styles, movements, rebellion, and the desire to change the world and persons of that world. Op art, pop art, conceptualism, minimalism, psychedelic art, feminist art, and performances were on the scene encouraging a modern man to create and develop his own opinion.
The art of the 1960s was not confined to its confines but went out into the world through the big doors. This was also demonstrated by the student and hippie movements who wanted to change reality, to introduce novelties and changes in many areas of life.
Pop was precisely the symbol of that new way of life that manifested itself in the form of a fight against conservatism, and high culture for a small circle of people. In contrast, mass culture has found its place in the world.
Conceptualism and minimalism used steel, concrete, and bricks to create their works of art, installations, and sculptures. A new world and some new people were coming to life. It seemed that the future would be great, different, more designed and that everyone would be able to show their idea embodied in an artistic creation. Art is no longer above life, it is not unattainable, hidden in some spaces known only to a few. Art was now a part of life, and life found inspiration in art. Characters from comics, commercials, film, and music stars were the inspiration for the top works of pop art.
Artists: Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Bridget Riley, Donald Judd, Robert Morris, Sol LeWitt, and Vito Acconci not only left their mark but are still an inspiration to many.
Pop art entered the art scene boldly and unstoppably. As we mentioned, the artists used images from mass culture, and various objects and thus introduced a new type of commercial aesthetics. They influenced visual art, graphic design, interior design, fashion, and even lifestyle.
Op art introduced innovations in the use of lines, colors, and contrasts. This is how kinetic art, the art of optical illusions, was born.
Minimalism was born in America. Artists rebelled against the traditional notion of sculpture and painting. The geometric form was important, they used prefabricated industrial materials.
Conceptualism emphasized the idea of the work of art above all else. Many had a role model in the work of Marcel Duchamp, rejecting the ideas of beautiful, skillful, and rare as a measure of art. They reduced the works to an absolute minimum, so the movement was marked as the time of dematerialization of art.
The sixties and interior design
The design of the sixties was a combination of bright colors, wonderful patterns, and all kinds of materials. Glass, metal, cork, laminate, and wood were used.
Wallpaper, of various patterns and colors, was still in fashion, almost inevitable.
It was a time of a mixture of periods, materials, and new ways of expression. The sixties taught us that imagination has no limits. And we still believe in that prophecy.
Image: BP Miller, Unsplash
