| Bratatat! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Roy Lichtenstein |
| Year | 1963 |
| Movement | Pop art |
| Dimensions | 116.8 cm × 86.4 cm (46 in × 34 in) |
Bratatat! is a 1963 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein in his comic book style of using Ben-Day dots and a text balloon.
Background
Lichtenstein was a trained United States Army pilot, draftsman and artist as well as a World War II veteran who never saw active combat. His list of aeronautical themed works is extensive. Within that genre, Lichtenstein has produced several works featuring pilots situated in cockpits during air combat such as Jet Pilot (1962), Brattata (1962), Bratatat! (1963), and Okay Hot-Shot, Okay! (1963). Bratatat! along with Whaam! and Varoom! are among Lichtenstein's most recognizable onomatopoeic works.
The source of Bratatat! is All-American Men of War #90 (March–April 1962, DC Comics). Bratatat! depicts a jet fighter pilot engaged in military conflict. The black and white sketch of this work has been on a worldwide tour, accompanied by DC Comics artwork.
The painting is symbolic of Lichtenstein's portfolio of work and is widely celebrated, as much for the name as for the actual graphical content of military conflict, in the marketing of the artist and his works.
Critical response
The work addresses Lichtenstein's motif of monocularity by pitting the pilot's binocular vision against the technologically advanced monocular computing reflector gun sight. The Washingtonian's critic Sophie Gilbert regards Bratatat! (along with Takka Takka) as exemplary of Lichtenstein's "aggressive, hyper-masculine war paintings" because of its depiction of the guns creating sound effects and the use of onomatopoeic words during military conflict. Dramatic close-ups of male protagonists at war, such as Bratatat! and Torpedo...Los!, serve as counterpoints to Lichtenstein's women in clichéd romantic turmoil during highly-charged moments. The work also is related to Lichtenstein's theme of "machine and embodied vision" as exhibited in works such as Crak!, Okay Hot-Shot, Okay!, and Jet Pilot.
See also
Notes
- "Chronology". Roy Lichtenstein Foundation. Archived from the original on June 6, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
- McCarthy, David (2004). H.C. Westermann at War: Art and Manhood in Cold War America. University of Delaware Press. p. 71. ISBN 087413871X. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
- Pisano, Dominick A., ed. (2003). The Airplane in American Culture. University of Michigan Press. p. 275. ISBN 0472068334. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
- "The Report: Mr Roy Lichtenstein". MrPorter.com. February 12, 2013. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
- "Bratatat!". LichtensteinFoundation.org. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ Kuiper, Kathleen (May 22, 2012). "Whaam!: The Roy Lichtenstein Retrospective at the Art Institute of Chicago". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
- Vogel, Carol (July 8, 2010). "Fresh Perspective on Familiar Pop Master". The New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
- Rolnick, Katie (September 29, 2010). "Roy Lichtenstein's 'Mark That Was Art'". The Forward. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
- "Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective". Times Higher Education. February 21, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
- Simmonds, Charlotte (March 1, 2013). "BRATATAT! Lichtenstein hits the Tate Modern". New Statesman. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
- Lobel, Michael (2002). Image Duplicator: Roy Lichtenstein and the Emergence of Pop Art. Yale University Press. p. 99. ISBN 0300087624. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
- Gilbert, Sophie (October 11, 2012). "Art Preview: "Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective" at the National Gallery of Art". The Washingtonian. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
- "War and Romance". Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
- "Roy Lichtenstein Retrospective On View at National Gallery of Art, Washington: October 14, 2012–January 13, 2013". National Gallery of Art. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
- Lobel, Michael (2009). "Technology Envisioned: Lichtenstein's Monocularity". In Bader, Graham (ed.). Roy Lichtenstein. MIT Press. pp. 118–20. ISBN 978-0-262-01258-4.