From Duchamp to Warhol: The Semiotics of Appropriation 
in American Pop Art

Bin Zhang

doi:10.70711/rcha.v3i8.7958

From Duchamp to Warhol: The Semiotics of Appropriation in American Pop Art

Bin Zhang

Abstract

This paper investigates the artistic strategy of appropriation, specifically the misappropriation of readymade goods, within the Pop
Art movement. It argues that this practice served as a core methodology for Pop artists to critique the emerging consumer society of the postwar era. By analyzing seminal works by figures like Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg through the lenses of semiotics and sociological
theory, the study examines how mass-produced commodities were transposed into the realm of art. The paper concludes that this appropriation
not only defined Pop Art's visual language but also established a powerful, ironic commentary on the values of mass consumption and popular
culture, leaving a lasting legacy for contemporary art.

Keywords

Appropriation art; Readymade; Consumer society; Pop art

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References

[1] Clement Greenberg, "Pop Art", in Artforum, No.10, 2004, with an introduction by James Meyer. https://www.artforum.com/print/

200408/pop-art-7606.

[2] Lawrence Alloway, "Popular Culture and Pop Art", in Pop Art: A Critical History, ed. Steven Henry Madoff, University of California

Press, 1997.

[3] Wang Mingming: 'Mythology and Anthropology', published in Northwest Ethnic Studies, 2010, 4:67.

[4] Luo Feng. Research on Saussure's Linguistic Thought [M]. Beijing: University of International Business and Economics Press, 2017.

[5] Baudrillard, Jean. The Consumer Society. Translated by Liu Chengfu and Quan Zhigang, Nanjing University Press, 2000;85.

[6] John Coplans, "The New Painting of Common Objects", in Pop Art: A Critical History, ed. Steven Henry Madoff, University of California Press, 1997:43.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.70711/rcha.v3i8.7958

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