American Dream: pop to the present, Paperback

<p><i>American Dream: pop to the present</i>, the fascinating book published to accompany the exhibition of the same name. Available at the special Museum price of £15.00. <br /> <br /> Illustrated with more than 200 key works by almost 70 influential artists, this book reveals the unprecedented scale, boldness and ambition of American printmaking since the 1960s. <br /> <br /><i>American Dream: pop to the present</i> presents an overview of the extraordinarily vibrant period of American printmaking, from the early 1960s when the medium experienced a dynamic resurgence to its popularity today. <br /> <br /> The book traces the way leading artists have experimented with new materials and new techniques to reflect their central concerns. From pop art through the rise of minimalism, conceptual art and photorealism in the 1970, to the engagement with issues such as race, AIDS and feminism right to the present day. <br /> <br /> Artists featured include Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Ed Ruscha, as well as more <br /> <br /> <b> About the authors </b> <br /> <br /> Stephen Coppel is curator of modern prints and drawings at the British Museum. <br /> <br /> Catherine Daunt is Monument Trust project curator at the British Museum. <br /> <br /> Susan Tallman is editor-in-chief of the journal Art in Print.</p>

The accompanying paperback title to the British Museum’s exhibition, The American Dream: pop to the present.

Illustrated with more than 200 key works by almost 70 influential artists, The American Dream presents an overview of the development of American printmaking since 1960, paying particular attention to key figures such as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol. The 1960s was a period of change in the production, marketing and consumption of prints, and the medium attracted a new generation of artists whose attitudes towards making art had been conditioned by the bold, eye-catching nature of popular imagery in post-war America, from advertisement billboards to drive-in movies. Artists, used to working on large canvases and huge sculptures, now created prints of an unprecedented ambition, scale and boldness in state-of the art workshops established on both the East and West coasts.

Prints also became a means for expressing opinion on the great social issues of the day, from civil rights to the overt and covert role of government. This has continued with topics such as feminism, gender, the body, race and identity being explored in prints and represented in a variety of stylistic approaches in recent decades. The changing nature of American society provides a core element of the narrative, with prints offering a fascinating insight into contemporary thinking and attitudes.