| Blam | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Artist | Roy Lichtenstein |
| Year | 1962 |
| Movement | Pop art |
| Dimensions | 172.7 cm × 203.2 cm (68 in × 80 in) |
| Location | Yale University Art Gallery |
Blam (sometimesBlam!) is a 1962 painting byRoy Lichtenstein falling within thepop art idiom. It is one of his military comic book derivatives and was one of the works presented at his first solo exhibition. The work is in the collection at theYale University Art Gallery
The painting is based onRuss Heath's art in thecomic bookAll-American Men of War issue #89 (January-February 1962), published byNational Periodical Publications.[1] The painting depicts a pilot ejecting from an exploding plane.[2] The same issue was the inspiration for several other Lichtenstein paintings,Okay Hot-Shot, Okay!,Brattata,Whaam! andTex![3] The graphite pencil sketch,Jet Pilot was also from that issue.[4]
When Lichtenstein had his first solo show at TheLeo Castelli Gallery in February 1962, it sold out before opening.Blam sold for $1000 ($10,395 in 2024 dollars[5]), according to one source,[6] but less than $1000 according to another.[7] The exhibition includedLook Mickey,[8]Engagement Ring andThe Refrigerator.[9] The show ran from February 10 through March 3.[10] The work appeared in the exhibition entitled 'The New Realists' at theSidney Janis Gallery[11] from November 1 to December 1, 1962.
Lichtenstein began his war imagery efforts with single frame pictures such asBLAM.[2]Blam uses quintessential war imagery. Although the text is limited to one four-letter word, the narrative is unnecessary owing to the eminent realism presented. The canvas is loaded with images surrounding the focal figure, of the aircraft under attack.[12]It is regarded, along withTakka Takka as "successful in their combination of brilliant color and narrative situation".[13]Blam is a jest with the viewer that uses an exclamation without narrative context.[14] LikeBlang (1962) andVaroom (1963),Blam'sonomatopoeia explodes "like a violent central sun over the entire composition".[15] Lichtenstein has revised the original source so that the aircraft and its explosion are the joint foci from which the painting radiates. Unlike the original, which had substantive narrative content, Lichtenstein's version has more formality and a linear pattern, but a more simplified surface.[16]