“Jump Cut Pop” Hits Its Mark at Haggerty Museum of Art

­In the world of film, a "jump-cut" refers to the technique of moving abruptly from one image to another. "Jump Cut Pop," the exhibit opening July 22 at the Haggerty Museum of Art, plays on this terminology by presenting pop-culture images of the '60s and '70s juxtaposed with artwork by Cliff Evans, Nobu Fukui, Jane Hammond, Eduardo Paolozzi, Martha Rosler and Tadanori Yokoo.

Haggerty Director Wally Mason curated this original show based on pieces from the museum's permanent collection. These never-before-seen images complement the current Robert Rauschenberg prints and the half-century's worth of work of the chosen Pop artists. Mason notes that Paolozzi began producing British Pop Art in the late-'40s, before American Pop Art rose to prominence with Andy Warhol.

"While celebrating the new technology of that time," Mason states, "British Pop Art always contains an element of irony and wit."

Paolozzi's work includes images of fashion from London's Carnaby Street, while Americans Nobu Fukui, Jane Hammond and Martha Rosler incorporate cartoons, personal photographs, montages and appropriate text alongside pictures that address social and political issues.

Japanese artist Tadanori Yokoo, a graphic designer working in the tradition of Warhol, designed multiple album covers referencing subcultures of the '60s and '70s (the names will be known to those immersed in the music of that era).

The junior member of these artists, Cliff Evans, produces video animation using modern technology that will be familiar to viewers in 2009. Evans casts a satirical eye toward consumerism, war and power.

"Jump Cut Pop" explores the context and credibility of the past Pop Art movement, but also advances the technology of video, assemblage, photomontage and collage that permeates the 21st-century art world. This should be an intriguing exhibition that demonstrates how even pop culture can portray timeless concepts of value to society.

Martha Rosler, currently enjoying a renaissance of her work, will present a lecture at 6 p.m. on July 22. An opening reception will follow.