Tom Wesselmann (1931-2004)

Tom Wesselmann's vision was not limited to two dimensional depictions of Pin-ups and products, on the contrary Wesselmann was extremely adept at collage and assemblage and the investigation of new materials and their own unique signifiers. Within his body of editioned works Wesselmann's experiments with molded uvex plastic from the early 1960's are perhaps the most engaging. As in Warhol's Brillo Boxes, the artist's hand is completely absent. Wesselmann and other notables, such as Craig Kauffman, executed works with the assistance of fabricators that hover somewhere between painting and sculpture. Plastic as a medium was very compelling to young artists in the 1960's, not only to the Pop artists but the Minimalists and West Coast Light and Space artists as well. Wesselmann knows that every American is a voyeur and voracious consumer and it is with this knowledge that he is able to win us over with every effort. Wesselmann's Still Life #54 is a classic example of 1960's Pop at its most fetishized, delivering pleasure through its calculated simplicity.