POPular

Photo Booth photographic strips
8 x 2  in each strip of seven
20.3 x 5.1 cm each strip of seven
2011

Richard Humann • POPular • Photo booth photographic Strips • 8 x 2 in each strip of seven • 2011

In POPular, Richard Humann examines the relationship between popular culture, visual repetition, and the systems of communication that shape everyday life. The work consists of seven photographic strips modeled on the familiar format of the photo booth portrait. Drawing on Pop Art and, more specifically, Andy Warhol’s iconic photographic strips, Humann replaces the human subject with letters of the alphabet, transforming a recognizable portrait format into an exploration of language and popularity.

Pop Art drew its imagery from the products, celebrities, advertising, and mass media of popular culture, often using repetition to examine how images circulate and acquire meaning. Warhol’s photo-strip portraits presented the human face as a reproducible image, capturing subtle variations through repeated exposures. In POPular, Humann applies this approach to the alphabet, treating letters as portraits in their own right. Rather than depicting individual personalities, the strips present the basic elements through which written language communicates.

The seven strips are arranged according to the frequency of the letters, progressing from the most commonly used to the least popular. This ranking introduces a statistical dimension to the work, assigning each letter a relative prominence based on its presence in written language. Letters become cultural participants in a system of use and repetition, their visibility determined not by individual identity but by how frequently they appear in communication.

The title POPular combines Pop Art with the idea of popularity, linking the visual language of mass culture to the functional language of the alphabet. By presenting letters in the format of celebrity portraits, Humann gives familiar symbols an unexpected individuality while drawing attention to the invisible structures that organize language. The work transforms something ordinarily read without much thought into something to be looked at, inviting viewers to consider how repetition and frequency shape recognition and value.

Ultimately, POPular bridges Pop Art’s fascination with reproducible images and the everyday mechanics of written communication. Its alphabetic portraits suggest that popularity is not limited to people or products; even the smallest elements of language occupy different positions within a system of collective use. Through this simple substitution, Humann turns the alphabet into a portrait of how culture communicates.

Photo credit: Richard Humann Studio