Takka Takka (Roy Lichtenstein)
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| Artist | Roy Lichtenstein |
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| Year | 1962 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 142.2 cm × 172.7 cm (56 in × 68 in) |
| Location | Museum Ludwig, Cologne |
Takka Takka is a 1962 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein in his comic book style of using Ben-Day dots and a story panel. This work is held in the collection of the Museum Ludwig. The title comes from the onomatopoeic graphics that depict the sound that comes from a machine gun.
Lichtenstein was a trained United States Army pilot, draftsman and artist as well as a World War II (WWII) veteran who never saw active combat. The work depicts a machine gun firing as it is situated above the camouflage of palm fronds during the Battle of Guadalcanal. The image shows shell casings and a grenade in mid flight. An explosion is stylized with the titular phrase. The source of Takka Takka is the comic book Battlefield Action #40 (February 1962, Charlton Comics Group).
Lichtenstein's reinterpretation of the original comic image eliminates the horizon line and other indications of depth of field. He also eliminates the human element by removing a hand, a helmet and the Japanese rising sun emblem.
When the characters in some of his works, e.g. Takka Takka, Whaam! and Okay Hot-Shot, Okay!, were criticised for being militaristic, Lichtenstein responded: "the heroes depicted in comic books are fascist types, but I don't take them seriously in these paintings—maybe there is a point in not taking them seriously, a political point. I use them for purely formal reasons."
The Washingtonian critic Sophie Gilbert, regards Takka Takka (along with Bratatat!) as exemplary of Lichtenstein's "aggressive, hyper-masculine war paintings" due to the depiction of the guns creating sound effects and the use of onomatopoeic words during military conflict.
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