The Pop Art movement began in England in the early 1950s when a community of artists called the Independent Group started meeting regularly for discussions of art made from found objects, mass media, science and technology. Members of this group included Richard Hamilton, Edouardo Paolozzi, art critics Lawrence Alloway and Reyner Banham and the architects Alison and Peter Smithson. They were fascinated by American popular culture and had lengthy discussions about the imagery found in science fiction, comic books, Western movies, billboards, rock n' roll and automobile design. According to "A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art," Lawrence Alloway coined the term "pop art" around 1955 as a description of works by the mass media such as film and television. However, by the early 60s it was being used as a description of art that drew imagery from the mass media.
In the 1950s, Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg opened the door to a wide range of atypical subject matter. Johns' paintings typically featured symbols such as flags, targets and numbers, while his sculptures featured everyday objects such as beer cans. Rauschenberg created paintings and collages featuring soda bottles, newspaper and magazine photos and stuffed birds. The Pop artists used similar subject matter but preferred commercial techniques and styles such as silkscreen printing and commercial illustration styles seen in comic books, pin-ups and billboards.
The Pop artists took some of their inspiration from the Dada movement of the late 1910s and 20s. Flourishing during World War I and the period immediately after, the Dada movement, like the Pop movement, often lampooned traditional art and used mass-produced, commonplace items as subject matter. However, the Pop art movement didn't have a clear goal. Some Pop artists wanted to break down the barriers between high art and popular culture while others used elements of popular culture as a tool for criticizing modern life.
Andy Warhol is perhaps one of the best known of the Pop artists. His most famous works include his paintings and silkscreens of advertisements, Campbell Soup cans and celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Although Roy Lichenstein worked in many different styles, he is best known for his paintings resembling giant comic book panels. Mel Ramos is best known for his pin-up style paintings of nude woman. He sometimes poses them with giant versions of products such as cheese and is famous for his humorous titles such as "You Get More Spaghetti with Giacometti."