Pop artists often created work that was straightforward and slick, employing bold primary colors and text. They adopted commercial advertising methods like silk-screening or producing multiples, which deemphasized the artist’s hand and subverted the idea of originality. Humor was also a main component – artists made statements about current events, poked fun at fads and challenged the status quo.

In the latest exhibition from the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, works from some of America’s first-generation Pop artists, such as Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana and Ed Ruscha are highlighted now through July 24. This includes two newly acquired Ruscha pieces entitled “Boom Town” and “Turbo Tears.”

Image Credit: Ed Ruscha, Turbo Tears, 2020. Lithograph on Rives BFK Paper, 23 5/8 x 29 15/16 in. Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Museum purchase with funds from the Gene Barth Acquisitions Endowment and the Oklahoma Art League, 2021.045 © Ed Ruscha

Image Credit: Ed Ruscha, Boom Town, 2020. Color lithograph with debossing, 15 x 15 in. Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Gift of the artist, 2021.054 © Ed Ruscha