TOW #6- Drowning Girl

Drowning Girl is considered one of Roy Lichtenstein’s most significant works. Painted in 1963, it illustrates the image of a woman crying in a turbulent sea with a thought bubble that reads, “I Don’t Care! I’d rather Sink—Than Call Brad for Help!” The graphical and narrative elements display a representative work of the pop art movement. Lichtenstein is able to create a melodramatic effect through intertextuality and parody based on popular culture.

Based on a 1962 DC Comics panel and Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Drowning Girl shapes a distinct meaning influenced by preexisting texts. The original piece depicts the boyfriend holding onto a capsized boat in the background and has different words in the thought bubble. By cropping the image to focus on the drowning girl and changing the narrative component, Lichtenstein places emphasis on the melodrama of the situation. His parody of various sources such as commercial illustrations, comic imagery, and modern masterpieces serves as a statement about pop culture.

The elements of modernism display Lichtenstein’s returning theme of women in tragic situations. Drowning Girl’s depiction of someone preferring death out of feelings of spite is a representation of the drama. The melodramatic quality about this piece draws upon the influence of popular culture—both contemporary and historical.

Lichtenstein’s impact on the pop art movement marked a shift away from abstract expressionism, art aimed at subjective emotional expression from the souls of the artists. Instead, his inspirations came from the culture at large and suggested little of the artist’s individual feelings. The style, subject matter, and techniques of reproduction referenced through popular culture appeared to dominate the artwork. Drowning Girl exemplifies this concept and effectively displays the melodramatic aspect of pop culture.