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© Copyrighted Artwork
This artwork is protected by copyright. We cannot display images of works by artists who passed away after 1954.
See the original at Tate Modern, London in London
Whaam!
by Roy Lichtenstein, 1963
Artwork Details
Details
- Year
- 1963
- Medium
- Acrylic paint and oil paint on canvas
- Size
- 172.7 cm × 406.4 cm
Cite or Embed This Work
APA · MLA · Chicago1-click academic citation and embeddable “On View” museum badge for articles, syllabi, and research.
Roy Lichtenstein adapted this two-panel painting from a 1962 DC Comics panel, showing a fighter jet firing a rocket that explodes an enemy plane. The red and yellow explosion dominates the right panel with its comic-book "WHAAM!" The Ben-Day dots and bold outlines mimic cheap printing.
By enlarging commercial imagery to gallery scale, Lichtenstein questioned distinctions between high and low culture. The violence is sanitized through the comic-book style, commenting on how media aestheticizes warfare. At nearly 14 feet wide, the painting transforms disposable entertainment into monumental art.
The work at Tate Modern in London.
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About Whaam!
The work at Tate Modern in London. It's one of their signature Pop Art holdings The acrylic paint and oil paint on canvas work is part of their permanent collection.
Yes, Lichtenstein adapted it from a 1962 DC Comics panel drawn by Irv Novick for "All-American Men of War."
Ben-Day dots are a printing technique using colored dots to create shading. Lichtenstein painted them by hand to mimic cheap printing.
The two panels together span 406.4 cm (over 13 feet) wide. The massive scale transforms comic imagery into museum art.
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