Year 6 - Art and design
The history of Pop Art
New Pop Art: sculpture and mixed-media
Study Hub
Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this conceptual art unit, pupils will make art in a medium of their choice on a topical contemporary theme. They will investigate how and why Pop artists from the 1960s to the present day created art.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain the origins and key characteristics of Pop Art and how it influences artists today.
Key Notes
- Pop Art began in the UK and USA in the mid-20th century and reacted to consumer culture.
- Pop Art often uses bold colours, repetition, and everyday imagery.
- Pop artists use mass production techniques like screen printing to mass produce artworks.
Vocabulary To Learn
- Pop Art: a modern art movement that emerged in the 1950s-60s, using imagery from popular culture like advertisements, celebrities, and comics
- mass media: forms of communication (TV, newspapers, etc.) used to reach large audiences, often influencing Pop Art themes
- mixed-media: combining different artistic materials (e.g. paint, collage, sculpture) in a single artwork
- iconic: something instantly recognisable and widely admired
- repetition: the repeated use of elements (images, colours, text)
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pop Art is just cartoon drawing or copying famous things.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Pop Art began in the UK and USA in the mid-20th century and reacted to consumer culture. Pop Art often uses bold colours, repetition, and everyday imagery.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'Pop Art'
a modern art movement that emerged in the 1950s-60s, using imagery from popular culture like advertisements, celebrities, and comics.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Pop Art is just cartoon drawing or copying famous things. Correction: Pop Art uses familiar imagery to comment on culture, not just to copy it. Artists chose their subjects carefully to reflect society's values and consumer habits.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 6 Art and design guide library.