The Re-identification of Pop Art

The Pop Art phenomenon has been a subject of discussion for art critics, gallerists, collectors and the artists themselves since its first appearance in the '50s. Beginning in the '80s, a strong interest emerged in studying the current retrospectively, intending not only to define its spread in geographical and chronological terms, but also to identify which artists and single pieces of artwork could be labeled as 'Pop'. Despite the efforts made in describing the current, previous research has trivialized it to the point that the term 'Pop' has been misattributed and its features are not precise. It is within this framework that this book investigates the artistic fortunes of Pop Art in Italy, exploring whether what happened in Italy could be identified as such and especially focusing on the period between 1962 and 1964 (as well as the period immediately following).