Haystack #3
Haystack #3
Signed Print
Roy Lichtenstein
Planographic print, 1969
Signed Print Edition of 100
H 34cm x W 60cm
Critical Review
Referencing various artists and schools of art historical thought, Roy Lichtenstein boldly addressed notions of high art versus low art throughout his career. Highlighting the act of seeing as well as the act of creating, the artist explored a number of variations on a single theme in the year of 1969. Both his masterful Cathedral series and his Haystack series present a Pop Art take on an impressionist icon.
Lichtenstein’s Haystacks consider the authenticity attributed to Claude Monet’s natural imagery of the early 1900s. The artist renders the haystack motif through the means of mechanical reproduction, translating it into his own cartoon style visual language. The Haystack prints exhibit images that are in essence purer than their source material, seeing as they are controlled through their medium of commercial design.
The hand-painted Ben Day dots crowding the surface of Haystack #3 are spaced differently, sometimes overlapping in order to create different colours and tones. Up close, it is clear that the print applies a colour palette composed of black and white. However, when regarded from a distance, the overall composition plays on the senses, making the cluster of dots appear grey. Lichtenstein here aims to parallel the transient light depicted by Monet’s lush brushstrokes, presenting Haystack #3 as a portrayal of harvest in the late hours of the afternoon.
