Example pop art dissertation topic 2:

‘Everything is beautiful’: The similarities between Pop Art and the Aesthetic Movement.

The early Victorian period’s interest in imbuing beauty in everyday images could be said to be a precursor of the Pop Art movement, in which beauty could be seen in everyday images. Andy Warhol sought to express this during the Pop Art revolution, as can be noted from his quote above. This dissertation analyses whether the two attitudes – that ordinary objects may be made beautiful, and that ordinary objects are of themselves beautiful – are distinctly different. It examines the motivations behind both the movements, and of their leaders, and considers the legacy that the Aesthetic Movement and Pop Art have given, not only to the history of art as a whole, but to contemporary art.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Leder, H., Belke, B., Oeberst, A. and Augustin, D. (2004). ‘A model of aesthetic appreciation and aesthetic judgments’, British Journal of Psychology, Vol. 95, pp. 489-508.
• Osterwold, T. (2003). Pop Art. Köln: Taschen.
• Stankiewicz, M.A. (1992). ‘From the Aesthetic Movement to the Arts and Crafts Movement’, Studies in Art Education, Vol. 33(3), pp. 165-173.