If you’re driving across the Montauk Highway, which connects New York City to the southern shore of Long Island, you’ll see plenty of skyscrapers, stately townhouses, and crowded beaches. But if you look closely, you might just spot American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein’s Tokyo Brushstroke sculptures poking out from behind the bushes.
Tokyo Brushstroke I and II have been a beloved sight of Montauk Highway commuters ever since they were installed outside Water Mill’s Parrish Art Museum in 2014, being given to the institution on long-term loan by the Fuhrman Family Foundation. Now, after being obscured by tarps and scaffolding, the museum is pleased to announce that the two towering sculptures have undergone renovations that make them look every bit as lively and vibrant as the day when Lichtenstein originally unveiled them.
Roy Fox Lichtenstein was born in New York City in 1923. During his formative years, summer courses in painting and drawing at the Art Students League of New York set the young Lichtenstein on a trajectory that would see him become one of the most successful pop artists of the country, mingling with—and being mentioned in the same breath as—Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and Willem de Kooning.
Roy Lichtenstein, Tokyo Brushstrokes (1994). Photo courtesy Parrish Art Museum
Lichtenstein’s Tokyo Brushstroke I and II, produced as part of a series during the 1990s, resemble the kind of expressive brushstrokes that painters like De Kooning were known for. They attempt to capture something instantaneous and spontaneous in a medium known for being static and unchanging.
To emphasize this tension, Lichtenstein made his sculptures as big and imposing as he could. Tokyo Brushstroke I stands an astounding 33 feet tall and weighs around 12,000 pounds—roughly the same as an elephant—while Tokyo Brushstroke II clocks in at 19 feet and 5,000 pounds. While Lichtenstein’s work is open to interpretation, the artist himself viewed these sculptures as ironic, noting they were “a symbol of something it isn’t.”
Similar themes come to light in another of Lichtenstein’s most enduring works, Look Mickey (1961), a faux-comic book page showing Walt Disney icons Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck standing on a dock while the latter exclaims—in text bubble—“Look Mickey, I’ve hooked a big one!” when, unbeknownst to him, the hook is attached to the back of his own shirt.
“Is Lichtenstein attempting to affront fine art?” an article published by the National Gallery of Art asks. Or is he merely repurposing a popular consumer good in order to show the average art world insider how shallow their taste really is? The answer, as with Tokyo Brushstroke, remains ambiguous.
Roy Lichtenstein in his New York studio in 1968. Courtesy of Jack Mitchell/Getty Images.
The Parrish Art Museum worked closely with the Estate of Roy Lichtenstein during its renovation of Tokyo Brushstroke I and II. Also involved were Two Sticks Inc., a New York City-based conservation studio specializing in modern and contemporary art conservation, and Julie Wolfe, author of Roy Lichtenstein: Outdoor Painter Sculpture, who made sure that the materials and techniques matched Lichtenstein’s own working process and color combinations.
According to the museum, the restoration of Tokyo Brushstroke exemplifies Lichtenstein’s longstanding relationship with the surrounding area, beginning when he moved to Southampton in 1970 with his wife, Dorothy.