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Whaam! is based on an image Lichtenstein found in a 1962 DC comic, All American Men of War. Lichtenstein often used art from comics and adverts in his paintings. He saw the act of taking an existing image and changing the context as a way of transforming it’s meaning. Lichtenstein was interested in emotional subjects, such as love and war. His work takes on these themes in a distant and impersonal way.

The Guerrilla Girls are an anonymous group of activist artists who highlight sexism and racism in the art world. They formed in 1985 in New York City, USA. Shortly after, their posters appeared overnight in the streets of the New York art district of SoHo. The group’s targets included artists, gallery owners, and museums. Over the years their focus has widened to include other areas of inequality. The Guerrilla Girls wear gorilla masks in public and use pseudonyms. They continue to expose discrimination and to produce new provocative posters. Their work now includes books, videos and workshops in schools, colleges and art institutions.