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How can we create art in a consumer-driven world? And what impact do contemporary challenges surrounding consumerism, sexuality, identity have on our lives and art? The latest exhibition at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris explores these critical questions

The Painter of Modern Life is an essay that the French poet Charles Baudelaire dedicated to that art that could “capture the epic side of modern life, and make us see and feel how great and poetic we are in our ties and polished shoes”. This prompts an important question: what does modernity truly mean? In the nineteenth century, the era in which Baudelaire was writing, modernity identified itself with those gentlemen who, with whimsical flânerie, wandered the lively Parisian boulevards filled with cafes and theaters, savoring the triumphs of an increasingly industrialized and globalized world. In the early twentieth century, modernity began instead to reflect the themes of an artistic and social movement such as Futurism — speed youth nationalism anarchy revolt violence — while, to the rhythm of Strauss's waltzes, it danced toward the looming catastrophe of the two world wars.

And then … What followed? Stripped of Baudelaire's heroic vision, in the second half of the twentieth century modernity “lost its halo” and became increasingly associated with the banality of everyday life, particularly that  American society. Having been spared the devastation of war on its own territory, America was among the first to embrace consumer culture and experience a significant growth of a capitalist type of economy. The shameless commodification of modern man, the relentless bombardment of advertising, the rise of consumerism elected as a way of life - but also the liberalization of sexual mores and the revalorization of the role and rights of women in society - are all phenomena that characterize this era and that art was required to interpret and bring to light.

FIGURA 1 EVELYNE AXELL, ICE CREAM, 1964, OIL ON CANVAS, 80 X 70 CM, PRIVATE COLLECTION, BELGIUM, © ADAGP, PARIS, 2024, PHOTO: © PAUL LOUIS

Pop art is an expression that describes the universe of mass media and the various art forms associated with it, which continue to thrive across continents and generations. The new exhibition at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, titled Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann &..., draws on this concept of a timeless pop(ular) art and will be open to visitors from October 17, 2024, to February 24, 2025. Curated by Dieter Buchhart and Anna Karina Hofbauer, the exhibition showcases the evolution of pop art, from its historical roots to its contemporary expressions, while highlighting the oeuvre of its leading artist Tom Wesselmann, with 150 of his works on display. In addition to Wesselmann's pieces, the exhibition also features 70 works by various artists who, despite coming from different eras and regions, all embody a vibrant pop mentality. This includes notable figures such as Richard Hamilton, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol, as well as Ai Weiwei, Jeff Koons, and Kurt Schwitters.

Pop artists immerse themselves totally in their contemporaneity and in everything that it represents. We exist—whether we are aware of it or not—surrounded by a multitude of industrial objects, bombarded by a constant stream of advertisements that are multiplied in huge numbers, ogling from the walls of the subway and broadcast ubiquitously on the technological devices in our homes. How could we – and, in parallel, art – turn away from a reality in which we are so deeply entrenched?

Pop artists, therefore, prioritize the most iconic symbols of American culture and society, starting with the most powerful of them all: the American flag. Jasper Johns’s painting Flag illustrates how this symbol, which is both widely recognized and emblematic of noble values, is also mass-produced and holds industrial significance. Through the artisanal encaustic technique, Johns transforms its commercial nature into a more nuanced expression. Similarly, David Hammons’s African-American Flag, colored in the red, black, and green of Pan-Africanism, challenges the myth of the American dream. The 20th-century iconographic encyclopedia created by pop artists features though a diverse array of many other subjects, including comic strips, which serve as \the last remnants of written communication, as seen in the works of Roy Lichtenstein...

FIGURA 2 ROY LICHTENSTEIN, THINKING OF HIM, 1963, MAGNA ON CANVAS, 172.7 X 174.6 CM, YALE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY, GIFT OF RICHARD BROWN BAKER, B.A. 1935, © ESTATE OF ROY LICHTENSTEIN NEW YORK/ADAGP, PARIS, 2024

The symbol of the car, representing personal self-assertion and freedom and evoking the dreams of Jack Kerouac in On the Road, is captured by Sylvie Fleury in her work Skin Crime 3, where she presents an automobile carcass painted a viscous pink.

FIGURA 3 VIEW OF THE EXHIBITION, WITH SKIN CRIME 3 BY SYLVIE FLEURY © FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON

Another key element in pop mythology is the pantheon of iconic figures from film and politics. This includes actors like Marilyn Monroe, featured prominently in Andy Warhol's works, including Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, and political figures such as John Fitzgerald Kennedy, as depicted in James Rosenquist's President Elect. Politicians and movie stars, through the proliferation of mass-produced election and cinema posters, saturate in this way the visual landscape of our cities, just like any other commodity...

FIGURA 4 VIEW OF THE EXHIBITION; SHOT SAGE BLUE MARILYIN BY ANDY WAHROL CAN BE SEEN IN THE BACKGROUND © FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON

Finally, the exhibition showcases Tom Wesselmann, the artist to whom it is dedicated. Born in Cincinnati in 1931, one of the first themes he explored in his oeuvre was the tradition of still life. In his work, the classical subjects of fruit, flowers, and game that define Baroque masterpieces are transformed into a vibrant inventory of highly consumable goods, reflecting the ideal list of an American supermarket shopper. Items like Four Roses whiskey, Coca-Cola, 7up, steaks, sandwiches, and Hellmann's mayonnaise are portrayed in his paintings with bold, aggressive colors, contrasting with the artistic tradition of great European painting. These vivid hues mirror the same colors used in advertising to capture our attention and drive us to desire, purchase, and consume the very products that Wesselmann lays bare before us.

FIGURA 5 TOM WESSELMANN, STILL LIFE #36, 1964, FOUND PAPER, OIL AND ACRYLIC ON LINEN, FOUR PARTS, 304.8 X 488.3 CM, WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, NEW YORK, GIFT OF THE ARTIST, © ADAGP, PARIS, 2024, PHOTO: © DIGITAL IMAGE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART / LICENSED BY SCALA

FIGURA 6 TOM WESSELMANN, STILL LIFE #34, 1963, ACRYLIC AND COLLAGE ON WOOD, 120.7 CM, MUGRABI COLLECTION, © ADAGP, PARIS, 2024

In the following rooms, Wesselmann invites us to step into a typical American apartment, where the interior and the pop dreams of its inhabitants are revealed in all their consumerist intimacy. Notably, in the series Interiors and Shelf Still Lifes, he juxtaposes painted surfaces with a variety of heterogeneous materials: lit televisions, running fans, toilet seats, buzzing radios, and more. These elements engage the viewer with their dynamic materiality and sonority, brilliantly expanding the boundaries of traditional painting. In these interiors we can find the latest technological gadgets and the most desirable foods, shedding light on a society where the only way to feel valued and worthy is to possess the trendiest consumer goods—true trophies to display in a relentless and deceptive pursuit of consumption, happiness, and success. Yet, this chase ultimately falls short of its promises, echoing the words of the Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi: fashion and death are sisters, both daughters of transience...

FIGURA 7 VIEW OF THE EXHIBITION © FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON

From the living room and the kitchen, we finally shift to the bedroom, where Wesselmann actively engages with the sexual revolution of the 1960s and boldly reinterprets the secular theme of nude in art. His depiction of female pleasure defies the traditional portrayal of the feminine nude, associated with passivity, yet it also highlights the hypersexualization that such bodies endure in a society that reduces sexual identity to what is deemed “sexually palatable”. In this context, bodies become a marchandise, which is duly displayed and promoted—sacrificing intimacy in a relentless struggle against unattainable ideals of beauty, desirability, and sexual performance as perpetuated by the mass media. The only anatomical features that emerge from these female nudes, where facial details are notably absent, are nipples and lips...

FIGURA 8 TOM WESSELMANN, GREAT AMERICAN NUDE #31, 1962, OIL AND MIXED MEDIA COLLAGE ON WOOD, 152.4 X 121.9 CM, PRIVATE COLLECTION, © ADAGP, PARIS, 2024

FIGURA 9 VIEW OF THE EXHIBITION © FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON

The exhibition, though, goes beyond simply chronicling the grand epopee of U.S. pop art and Wesselmann. On the contrary, it also offers a collection of counter-narratives, illustrating how this movement is expressed through various parameters that extend beyond American borders. The traditional canon exemplified by Warhol and Lichtenstein stands therefore in contrast to the works of artists from diverse cultural backgrounds, nations, and eras. Derrick Adams, born in Baltimore, confronts the stereotype of the white, heterosexual male in his series Super Nude, where black men are provocatively posed, enticing viewers with flirtatious glances. Meanwhile, Do-ho Suh, born in Seoul, reconstructs a New York bathroom interior using textile materials, exploring the physical, psychological, and metaphorical aspects of such a space, achieved through a sense of spectral lightness. Tomokazu Matsuyama, from Takayama, Japan, reinterprets our contemporaneity by “transcending the limits of time, context, and geography,” as he describes it, filling his works with a multitude of references ranging from the Edo and Meiji periods to great French Renaissance painting and Greco-Roman sculpture, all viewed through the lens of popular culture. Yayoi Kusama, an artist born in Matsumoto, examines the status of women in a patriarchal and massified society in her work Self Obliteration...

FIGURA 10 YAYOI KUSAMA, SELF OBLITERATION, 1966-1974, PAINTING ON MANNEQUINS, TABLES, CHAIRS, WIGS, HANDBAGS, CUPS, PLATES, PITCHERS, ASHTRAYS, PLANTS, PLASTIC FRUITS AND FLOWERS, VARIABLE DIMENSIONS, M+, HONG KONG, © 2024 YAYOI KUSAMA

Pop art, therefore, transcends being a mere movement; it embodies a sensibility that continues to resonate even with our contemporary artists. Another noteworthy example is the series of Coca-Cola urns by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, where the logo of this iconic brand, the quintessential symbol of global consumerism, is overpainted on ancient Han dynasty jars. This artistic gesture may seem sacrilegious or blasphemous, yet it prompts reflection on how Han jars also were once mass-produced artifacts—much like Coca-Cola bottles, defying the preconceived distinction between "noble" and trivial culture lying within Western society.

FIGURA 11 AI WEIWEI, HAN DYNASTY URN WITH COCA COLA LOGO, 2015, CERAMIC URN, PAINT, 43.1 X 30.4 CM, COLLECTION LARRY WARSH, © AI WEIWEI

Just across, a Balloon Dog by Jeff Koons exemplifies the effects of mass production and commodification in art, transforming a concept traditionally associated with joy and celebration—such as dog balloons—into monumental sculptures made of polished steel, reflecting an unattainable sheen.

FIGURA 12 VIEW OF THE EXHIBITION, WITH THE WORKS BY JEFF KOONS AND TOMOKAZU MATSUYAMA ON DISPLAY © FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON

Finally, the exhibition progresses through the final rooms, continuing the trajectory of Wesselmann's artistic journey. This section features paintings of mouths, rendered using the shaped canvas technique, where the outline of the canvas mirrors the contours of the lips.

FIGURA 13 TOM WESSELMANN, MOUTH #2, 1966, LIQUITEX AND OIL ON SHAPED CANVAS, 99.1 X 200.7 CM, FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON, PARIS, © ADAGP, PARIS, 2024, PHOTO: © FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON / DAVID BORDES

FIGURA 14 VIEW OF THE EXHIBITION © FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON

Next are the Standing Still Lives, monumental works that consist of multiple canvases depicting familiar objects at a grand scale - akin to the approach of many pop artists, such as Claes Oldenburg. In doing so, a sense of estrangement emerges, creating a subtle disquiet where these everyday objects, through their monumental size and illusionistic representation, take on a dimension of metaphysical oddity, much like the surreal world of Alice in Wonderland.

FIGURA 15 TOM WESSELMANN, STILL LIFE #60, 1973, OIL ON SHAPED CANVASES, 310.5 X 845.8 X 219.7 CM, THE ESTATE OF TOM WESSELMANN, NEW YORK, © ADAGP, PARIS, 2024, PHOTO: © ROBERT MCKEEVER, COURTESY GAGOSIAN GALLERY

FIGURA 16 VIEW OF THE EXHIBITION © FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON

In conclusion, this exhibition, while effectively showcasing the epos of Pop Art through the lens of Tom Wesselmann, also bravely presents a series of counter-narratives, featuring artists from geographical and historical backgrounds that are different from the American context of the 1960s. This narrative finally invites profound reflection on how our society, which consumes bodies, art, and culture as eagerly as a Coca-Cola bottle, shapes our needs and identities. Are we really so different from the figures depicted in Wesselmann's paintings?