Pop Art in the USA mainly appeared in New York, but there were also some notable artists in Los Angeles, California. Some of the most interesting ones are Jess Collins, who cut out pieces of newspaper and made comic strips out of them; Wayne Thiebaud, who painted extremely delicious looking sweets, candies and cakes; and Edward Kienholz, who is famous for his spectacular Assemblages. These Assemblages were often quite terrifying, for instance: The Birthday (which depicts a woman with arrows growing out of her belly) or The Beanery (which represents a real beanery, with sculptures of people there, but all these figures have clocks on the place of their heads). His most famous and acknowledged works are Roxy’s (a whole, equiped room of a brothel) and Back Seat Dodge (which represents the first sexual experience in the back of a car: the figure of the guy is made from chicken wire, except for his hand in the girl’s figure’s pants. The radio of the car is always playing what is on at the moment, and a separated alcohol bottle lies near the car.).

Jess Collins- detail from Nance, from A Birthday Pillow Book for James, 1956. Collage on four two-page spreads, Kent State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives, Kent, OH.

Wayne Thiebaud-Yellow Mickey Mouse Cake 1998, oil on canvas

Edward Kienholz- The Birthday

The Beanery

Back Seat Dodge

Roxy's