Kiss (Poster Originals) - Roy Lichtenstein

A classic 1964 Pop Art screenprint by Roy Lichtenstein, featuring his signature comic-book aesthetic, bold outlines, and Ben-Day dot shading.

Roy Lichtenstein produced this work in 1964, drawing directly from the visual language of mid-century American romance comics. The image captures a close-up, intimate moment between two figures, rendered with the bold outlines and flat colour fields that defined his contribution to the Pop Art movement. By isolating a single frame from a narrative sequence, Lichtenstein removes the original context, forcing the viewer to engage with the mechanics of mass-produced imagery.

Central to the visual composition are the Ben-Day dots, a mechanical printing process used in commercial comic books to create shading and secondary colours. Lichtenstein meticulously replicated these dots by hand, subverting the distinction between high art and low-brow commercial illustration. The palette is restricted to primary colours, with bright yellow hair, red lips, and flesh tones set against thick black contours. This specific print was created for the Poster Originals gallery, reflecting the era's interest in making art accessible through the medium of the exhibition poster.

Lichtenstein often explored the tension between emotional subject matter and the detached, industrial method of its production. The weeping woman, a recurring motif in his work from this period, appears here in a moment of romantic intensity. The lack of depth and the emphasis on graphic clarity ensure the image functions as a signifier of melodrama rather than a realistic portrait. This print serves as a representative example of how Lichtenstein transformed the ephemeral nature of comic strips into a permanent, iconic aesthetic. His work remains a study in the appropriation of popular culture, demonstrating how the repetition of commercial techniques can alter the perception of familiar visual tropes.