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Iryna Kastsova, Marilyn Monroe 6, 2022. Acrylic on canvas, 80 x 120 cm. 48ca
Pop art: what lies behind a smile? 737271
"A person looks more beautiful when he smiles."
If we take the aforementioned quote, by the British playwright and writer born in 1849, s Hodgson Burnett, as a model and extend it to the world of Pop portraits, what happens? Do they appear more pleasant, if, in addition to their vivid colors, they are enriched by the joy of a, probably genuine, smile? To this question there is actually no universal answer, since, in the great variety of the human psyche, there are also people who turn out to be more intrigued by a beautiful pout, capable of making them question the nature of the effigy's woes. In any case, these considerations turn out to be somewhat superficial, since they do not take into consideration at all the fact, that, often, a smile can conceal states of mind far more controversial than mere lightheartedness, hiding a dose of high suffering. In order to find out what lies behind some of Pop art's best-known smiles, it is impossible not to refer to the work of Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist and Yue Minjun, masters who gave such a facial expression, formed mainly by the flexing of the muscles at the sides of the mouth, new and unprecedented meanings. As far as Warhol is concerned, it is imperative to mention Marilyn Monroe, a color silkscreen print dated 1967, in which the American master made a serial repetition of the image of the Hollywood diva of the same name, proceeding to transform her face into a compulsive icon of American mass consumer society. On the subject of Marilyn's smiling face, however, the 1967 masterpiece makes clear reference to a photograph purchased by Warhol a few weeks after the actress's tragic death, intended to immortalize her during the iconic promotion of the film Niagara (1953). Consequently, such a smile becomes a kind of vital funerary image of Marilyn, who, having died young, will remain eternally charming and happy, even if unable to make known her saddest and most notorious truth, such as that in which the perfect convergence of celebrity, beauty, suffering and tragedy is realized. Turning to Rosenquist's masterpiece, on the other hand, the painting President elect (1960-61/1964) borrows the image of a 1960 portrait of John F. Kennedy, which is juxtaposed with illustrations related to consumer goods typical of the American middle class, with which he came into through an innovative presidential campaign, which, of "modern inspiration," was based on the use of mass media. Although Kennedy showed, on this occasion, his perfect teeth, unfortunately, his image, and consequently his smile, will forever now be associated with the event of his tragic assassination, which snatched him from life on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, America. At the conclusion of this "review" of smiles, it is impossible not to refer to the "irreverent" work of a well-known contemporary artist such as Yue Minjun, a painter who began his career, halfway between "Pop art and Surrealism," by putting himself forward as a founding member of the Chinese school of "Cynical Realism," a group that emerged in the early 1990s in response to the repression of artistic freedom imposed by the Chinese government. Consequently, the smiling faces of this artist actually reflect a relevant and undeniably concerned social consciousness, although they also allude, at the same time, to a desirable, as well as necessary for survival, optimistic outlook on the future. Finally, as for the Pop aspect of these "playful" subjects, they, characterized by a serial, obscene, grotesque, ostentatious and obsessive smile, appear to be a kind of Warhol "made in China," although, such type of "assembly-line production," seems to reveal an unprecedented and necessary attitudinal advice: since we cannot change things, then, perhaps, all we have left to do is laugh?
Jamie Lee, Summer Vibes, 2022. Acrylic / spray paint on canvas, 70 x 70 cm.
Julia Brinkfrau, Colorful laughing woman, 2022. Oil / acrylic / pastel on canvas, 60 x 50 cm. 4e3k6h
Brief history of the smile in art 41i5n
Have you ever thought about the fact that the greatest masterpieces in the history of art do not smile, or, at most, show only a slight flexing of the muscles at the sides of the mouth? The above can be well exemplified by iconic works, such as, for example, the Mona Lisa, the Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Lady with an Ermine, etc. What has been said is explained by the fact that portraits must, generally, convey the idea of the person, so much so that laughter, could, improbably, attribute to him a misleadingly and excessively carefree, playful and "naïve" attitude. To give an example that is understandable to all, today, when we have our picture taken for work, or for a simpler ID card, we are advised, for the most part, to take a serious attitude, as it is good to present ourselves to the outside world as someone reliable, balanced and calm. Masterpieces of art, at the time intended as official photos of the person, pursued the same intentions, so much so that the smile in art has become more popular, and less "blasphemous," with the age of time, that is, since the opportunities to spread a smiling image of ourselves have multiplied, thanks to the advent of new technologies, the Internet and social media, contexts in which a smile is no longer certainly understood as something "compromising." Therefore, in order to demonstrate the contemporary popularity of muscular flexions at the sides of the mouth, reference can be made to Artmajeur's extensive Pop repertoire, within which the works of Vitalina Desbocada, Sasha Bom, and Lukas Pavlisin stand out.
Vitalina Desbocada, Money on my mind, 2022. Oil on cardboard, 40 x 40 cm.
Vitalina Desbocada: Money on my mind 5h381v
Desbocada's smiley, compared to the aforementioned dramatic Pop tales, seems to conceal no drama behind his mocking and cheeky grin, except for an arid love of money, which leads him to assume an upbeat attitude, probably due to a conspicuous and unexpected monetary gain. Such a view brings to mind other iconic masters of the aforementioned artistic current, who, along with Neo Pop artists, celebrated their "attachment," or perhaps their concealed aversion, to the world of money, such as, for example, Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. In fact, if the latter used to transform banknote characters into the figures of his unmistakable iconography, the latter reflects the identity of mass, luxury and wealth in his 1982 Dollar Sign Portfolios, that is, in a series of prints recognizable by the repetition of the American dollar sign in bright neon colors. In addition to what has been said, it could be added that, the work of the artist from Artmajeur, in addition to situating itself within a courtly artistic tradition, probably pursues the intent of disseminating, in a figurative way, the history of the smiley icon: yellow circle, which, in its basic version, having for a mouth a parenthesis and two dots in place of eyes, was born in 1963 in Massachusetts from the mind of graphic designer Harvey Ball. Although this is officially recognized as the date of conception of the said "character" it was, in fact, also found, in its most primitive form, on the surface of a 3700-year-old Hittite jug, which found on the Turkish-Syrian border, revealed how man evolved only in certain aspects.
Sasha Bom, Aphrodite's smile, 2022. Collages on MDF board, 140 x 110 cm.
Sasha Bom: the smile of Aphrodite d3d2g
Have you ever imagined yourself sneaking a smile or hearing a fat laugh coming from a masterpiece of Hellenic art? Or perhaps turning around, exchanging a few jokes with a marble and then compulsively starting to laugh with it? Such imagination is realized, finally for the most eccentric and dreamy, in Sasha Bom's collage, a work that can reveal to us the features of the smile of the most beautiful woman in the history of art: Aphrodite. To what has just been stated, however, it is necessary to add that, in fact, the Greeks were at one time, prior to the advent of classicism, that is, between the 8th and 6th centuries, very interested and fascinated by the depiction of a particular type of flexion of the muscles on the sides of the mouth, summarized by the expression: archaic smile. This expressive peculiarity, consisted in the realization of faces having their lips curved up, in the form of a placid and playful smile, although, this type of depiction, in reality, is beyond the scope of wanting to represent actual feelings, since, the archaic age, did not provide for the manifestation of emotions, as the later late classicism manifested. In fact, the archaic smile represents rather a convention, which disappeared with the advent of the severe style, which introduced the representation of three dimensions mediated an organic transition of planes, which allowed the representation of the mouth in its real depth.
Lukas Pavlisin, Mad dog, 2022. Acrylic / marker on paper, 40 x 30 cm.
Lukas Pavlisin: Mad dog 2l1a2y
Pavlisin's razor-sharp, unreassuringly sharp-toothed dog appears, in fact, to be very happy, playful and content, so much so that it is possible to attribute to the upward curve of the left corner of his mouth, the appearance of a smile, which, alas for his kind, can never explode into a more concrete, and of a more human nature, laugh. In fact, although we often marvel at how human our dogs can look and enjoy the time spent in our company, they, unlike chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans cannot smile, even though a certain attitude of theirs, mostly assumed in a play context, which prompts them to have their mouths open, eyes wide open, heads up and rapid and intense breathing, would represent the hallmark of "laughter" of its species. In fact, this manifestation of contentment is expressed by mediating a peculiar exhalation and inhalation of air, aimed at producing a wheezing sound, which, without any vocalization, presents the appearance of a "hhuh hhah." On the subject of art history, there are some works that, in my opinion, present a canine smile or laughter, such as, for example: the snickering dogs watching a fellow fall from his chair in Poker community (1910) by Cassius M. Coolidge, the funny little four-legged smiling in Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Arnolfini (1434) by Jan van Eyck, and the playful hunting specimen in Bonjour monsieur Courbet (1854) by Gustave Courbet. If the review of dog smiles continues for much longer, it could would bear implementation by that of all the "facial" expressions, assumed by these faithful animals in the greatest masterpieces of Western art history.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli 
