Roy Lichtenstein (Art Drop #7)

How the artist turned cartoons into Art. And why his painting "Ohhh...Alright..." seems to reflect the current political moment.

Photo of Roy Lichtenstein’s painting Ohhh…Alright… at the Chicago Art Institute 2012 by Lori Salteri via Flickr

The ambiguity of Ohhh…Alright…has always intrigued me. Who is this woman talking to, and what precisely is alright?

Since nothing in the painting—and yes, it is a painting—provides an answer, we are forced to supply one ourselves. Because the artist has removed the comic-book frame from the rest of the story, we must use our own imaginations to create one.

That is the beauty of what Roy Lichtenstein managed to do during the hey-day of Pop Art, which we’ve already discussed in the Andy Warhol Art Drop. Where Warhol used soup cans, Marilyn Monroe, and shoes, Lichtenstein used comics.

But he didn’t just copy the cartoon images,

he re-contextualized them. How? By removing them from the original comic book and restating them in an entirely different way. Cropped, enlarged, and painted over a background of Ben-Day dots.

When I first saw Ohhh…Alright…at the Chicago Art Institute’s Lichtenstein Retrospective in 2012, I figured the woman in the painting was being dumped. Or disappointed in some other way. Probably by a guy. But not necessarily. Maybe it was her best friend or a sibling on the phone saying they couldn’t make it to her dinner party.

More than a 1960s stereotype

Although the woman in this painting could be any woman at any time, she certainly looks like the female stereotype promoted in ads, commercials, and comic strips in the 1960s.

This year, however, I see the painting in a broader context. A political one. As our “leaders” approach yet another fractious face-off over immigration, Ukraine, Gaza, and funding the government—the same thing that happens every year will undoubtedly happen again. Sooner or later, one side in each of these stand-offs will have to say, Ohhh…Alright...

That’s why this painting is more than just a copy of a frame in Secret Hearts, the comic book Lichtenstein took it from. In the original frame, we already know the reason for the woman’s reluctant agreement. The man on the other end really is breaking their date because he has an important business meeting. Or so he says.

But unlike the original,

Lichtenstein’s cropped restatement of that frame removes the guy’s excuse, leaving the image open to reinterpretation. Thus it’s possible to see something new in it every time you look.

Instead of the original cartoon’s disappointed blonde turned into a redhead by Lichtenstein, she could be Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. Or Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Or even the former president forced to accept a $450 million dollar judgment in the New York fraud case. (Though we all know he’d probably say a lot more than that.)

She could even be Fulton County DA Fani Willis, Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade, or the Trump RICO defendants when Judge Scott McAfee hands down his decision as to whether Willis and Wade’s romance should disqualify them from prosecuting the case. When that die is cast, one side or the other will have to say, Ohhh…Alright…

What do you see?

One of the things I love most about art is that it’s subjective. I’ve told you how I see this painting. Now tell me how you see it.

If you’d like to know more about Roy Lichtenstein, check out this 5-minute segment from CBS Sunday Morning. And for a deeper dive on Ohhh…Alright…, check out the 25-minute video below from The Lonely Palette Podcast. It’s really good.

©2024 Andrew Jazprose Hill

Thanks for reading.