Premium Essay

Andy Warhol's Pop Art

Submitted By
Words 1692
Pages 7
Lavender skin, canary yellow hair, and cherry red lips. Gaudy might be the first word to pop into a person's mind when these colors are described to them. These bright, contrasting colors simply have no right to be on the same canvas as one another, let alone create the image of a movie icon. Yet this was the whole point of Andy Warhol’s, Marilyn, painted in 1967. Breaking away from tradition, this was one of many portraits Andy painted in his artistic lifetime, and a prime example of the ever so popular movement called Pop Art. Not only did he start a movement, but as he became more and more well known, Warhol broke down boundaries, creating the art world we have today. Born in Pittsburgh in 1928, Andrew Warhola lived a simple life. Youngest …show more content…
By the age of 27 he was making more than a hundred thousand dollars a year, yet he still wanted more, he wanted to be a real artist. Abstract artists like Jackson Pollock stole the spotlight, creating canvasses covered in splattered paint. Not quite a fan, Warhol needed to find his own way of breaking into the fine art scene. A bottle of Coca-Cola was this young man’s inspiration.Thick, graphic lines create the bold statement of a painting. On the left hand side, a large Cola bottle stands among a stark white canvas, and the cropped logo of Coca-Cola sits in the top right corner. Bold was such a piece, one of the first of it’s kind and the official start of Andy Warhol’s Pop Art career. But what is his artistic movement we keep talking of? Before delving deeper into Warhol’s Pop Art life, we need to ask ourselves, what makes art …show more content…
And Warhol seemed to know everyone. He was often approached by young artists to have their work looked at or ask for a potential collaboration. Everyone wanted the fame that he had, and be apart of the entourage that followed the artist around. Artists like Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Francesco Clemente were some of the lucky few to work with Warhol. It wasn’t just the fine artists who were inspired but musicians as well. The Velvet Underground was a band that Warhol managed on the side. The band played while Andy projected many of his own films behind them, encouraging people to dance and let themselves be free. Paying tribute to this kind of inspiration, the very well know David Bowie created the song “Andy Warhol” and made it his mission to let loose. Many claimed that Bowie was obsessed with Warhol’s art, drawing upon it in many of his eccentric costumes and performances. Not only did Andy influence so many in the time he was alive, but almost thirty years after his death, his art is still seen

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Andy Warhol Research Paper

...“Born on August 6, 1928, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Andy Warhol was a successful magazine and ad illustrator who became a leading artist of the 1960s Pop art movements. He ventured into a wide variety of art forms, including performance art, filmmaking, video installations and writing, and controversially blurred the lines between fine art and mainstream aesthetics. Warhol died on February 22, 1987, in New York City. Born Andrew Warhola on August 6, 1928, in the neighborhood of Oakland in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Andy Warhol's parents were Slovakian immigrants. His father, Ondrej Warhola, was a construction worker, while his mother, Julia Warhola, was an embroiderer. They were devout Byzantine Catholics who attended mass regularly, and maintained...

Words: 1170 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Essay

...Andy Warhol was best known for mass-producing images of mass-produced objects. His work from the 1960s revolved around American Pop culture. He painted dollar bills, celebrities, brand name products and images from newspaper clippings- many of the latter were iconic images from headline stories of the decade. His subjects were instantly recognizable, and often had a mass appeal- this aspect interested him most and it unifies his paintings from this period. Warhol stated that when Marilyn Monroe died ', I got the idea to make screens of her beautiful face the first Marilyns' For him, she symbolised the apex of the beauty that Hollywood glitz and glamour had to offer. She was a household name, and it is clear that, in her fame, Andy Warhol greatly admired and looked up to her. This is why i believe he painted her after her death Xx "...and you said you thought "...and you said you thought that coming so close to death was really like coming so close to life, because life is nothing." - A recount of a dialogue with Andy after the assassination atempt from The Philosophy of Andy Warhol. In the early sixties Warhol became deeply interested in death. Searching for new material Warhol serched the media and became fascinated by pictures of electric chairs, car crashes, and race riots. As a result he created the Death in America series, and the viewers were shocked. Warhol blatantly depicted death over and over again shown off centered, layered, or ripped down the middle, and...

Words: 1680 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Andy Warhol

...Andy Warhol was one of the most imaginative, thought-provoking, and influential artists of the twentieth century. He was a key figure in the development of Pop Art, an artistic movement originating in the 1960s. Pop Art was an alternative to the art style Abstract Expressionism. Abstract Expressionism was serious, philosophical, and most people found it hard to understand. Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko where stars of this style. In Pop Art, common objects are the subject of the artwork. Artists like Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein took inspiration from comic strips, commercial goods, and advertising. Warhol's art was a commentary on our consumerist society and would inspire both outrage and delight alike. He was also fascinated by fame and the famous, creating silk-screen images of celebrities. Warhol challenged accepted ideas of what art should be and was responsible for breaking down the barrier between art and commercial design. When Andy Warhol was alive he was very mysterious about his origins. He would often make up a different story every time he was asked. After his death the truth's about where he came from was released. Andy Warhol was born Andrew Warhola on August 6, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Slovakian immigrants Ondrej and Julia Warhola. He had two older brothers John and Paul. In 1929 Andy's father had his gallbladder removed. The surgery didn't immediately kill him but it did lead to his death years later. It was an ironic sense of foreshadowing...

Words: 2263 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

The Life of Andy Warhol

...of Andy Warhol Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about Andy Warhol and the artistic contributions he made to society. Thesis: I will accomplish this by discussing his background information, his contribution to Pop Art, and some of his other areas of artistic interest. Introduction I. I will use a statement that draws attention to how much Andy Warhol influenced art in the 20th century. II. I will establish my credibility by how and where I researched the information about Warhol. III. The purpose is to inform my audience about Andy Warhol and the artistic contributions he made to society. A. This will give background information about Andy Warhol’s life and important events. B. This will tell how he was a part of the art style Pop Art and what he did with this. C. This will tell what other types of creative work he did such as fashion and filmmaking. (Transition: Before we get into his art, I’d like to discuss how his life started out and some personal information about him.) Body I. I will tell about Andy Warhol’s upbringing and special events in his life from the print source “The Wigged Out World of Andy Warhol” by Todd Lyon A.Warhol started from humble beginnings: he was born in a Catholic household and was ill so he stayed in his room much of the time with comic books. B. His father died when he was 14 years old and he used the money left behind to attend the Carnegie Institute of Technology. (Transition: Warhol’s illness...

Words: 500 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Contextual

...will discuss the topic known as Pop art. There will be an understanding about how Pop Art had a relationship with the world of Graphic design. In this essay there will be information about the works of a famous American painter called Andrew Warhola known as Andy Warhol. His work is going to show the use of colours, style and the design as an overall portrait. Further more this essay will be looking at Andy Warhol’s images and they will be mentioning the years they were designed. Most importantly, there will need to be an interest on the topic so there could be a general discussion on Pop art. This essay will explore the styles and effects of Andy Warhol’s work. The essay will also explore the different kind of paper material he uses to design his images. For example most of his work is done through “Acrylic and silkscreen on Canvas”. This essay will discuss the feelings of why he designs his work on such material. As well as discussing general pop art, the essay will also show the attraction of Pop art and the relevance of pop art in the early years of Graphic design. Pop Art + Andy Warhol The research shows that Pop Art was promoted in the 1950’s to the public as a media source. As this information states "The term first appeared in Britain during the 1950s and referred to the interest of a number of artists in the images of mass media, advertising, comics and consumer products.” (http://www.artchive.com/artchive/pop_art.html) Pop Art use bright and colourful colours...

Words: 1699 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Andy Warhol

...Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1928. His parents were Russian immigrants from Slovakia. When Andy was in 3rd grade, he was diagnosed with “scarlet fever”, which causes colored skin blotches. Repeated trips to the doctor caused Andy to become a “hypochondriac” (someone afraid of doctors, medicine, and hospitals). Often stuck in bed for days at a time, Andy was entertained by the radio and television, which he later described as an important influence on his artwork. In 1945, he entered the Carnegie Institute of Technology where he majored in graphic design. Upon graduation, Warhol moved to New York where he worked as an illustrator for several magazines including “Vogue”, “Harper's Bazaar” and “The New Yorker” and did advertising and window displays for many department stores. Warhol became famous worldwide for his work as a painter, filmmaker, record producer, author, and public figure known for his social circles of friends which included Hollywood celebrities, politicians, and wealthy families. In the 1950’s, the record industry was quickly expanding with vinyl records and hi-fi stereo equipment. Around 1950, RCA hired Andy Warhol and his artist friend, Sid Maurer, to create vinyl album covers and poster advertisements for the newest recording artists. This led to many important meetings with influential businessmen. Throughout the 1950’s, Warhol enjoyed a successful career winning several awards from the Art Director's Club and the American...

Words: 1274 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous For 15 Minutes

...Andy Warhol Andy Warhol once said, “Everyone Will Be Famous For 15 Minutes.” Most of Andy Warhol’s childhood dealt with sickness,finding a love for art, and figuring out what sexuality he wanted to be. Warhol lived an interesting life; he has been shot,a film director,and been judged for his work. As an artist, Andy Warhol does not get  adequate recognition for his influence on modern pop art. Warhol suffered from several different health problems as a child such as Chorea,Scarlett fever,nerve disorders,and skin blotchiness. When he would stay home from school being sick he collected movie star posters and pictures of models. His mother loved to draw,his mother helped him find a love for art. They would paint pictures of the cat or of what...

Words: 326 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Andy Warhol's Subject Matter in the 1960s

...Andy Warhol’s Subject Matter of the 1960s During the 1960s, Andy Warhol decided to experiment with pop art, a style of art that developed in England during the mid-1950s and produced realistic variations of well-known, everyday objects. He moved away from his technique of the blotted line and instead used canvas and paint. At first he had difficulty choosing what he was going to paint, but throughout the course of his pop art era he focused on four main subjects: product paintings, cartoon paintings, movie stars, and death. His first versions of pop art were called product paintings. These paintings showed popular consumer items that were familiar to the average American person, such as Brillo soap pads, Coca-Cola bottles, and the most famous of all, Campbell’s soup cans. He chose products such as these because they were top-selling products in the United States and they were considered important, useful, and economical by consumers. He drew his inspiration from the leftover Campbell’s soup cans and Coca-Cola bottles that he used at lunch. Andy Warhol’s second type of paintings was drawn from comic strips and comic books. Examples of these cartoon paintings include Dick Tracy (1961) and Superman (1960). Although he had begun to produce these before the product paintings, this phase lasted only a short period of time – once he discovered that Roy Lichtenstein was also painting characters from comic strips (seen in Castelli’s Gallery), he decided that he needed to find a different...

Words: 433 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Andy

...The Founder of Pop Art: Andy Warhol Andy Warhol is the god father of Pop Art. His window advertisements were the beginning of an era where art would be seen in an array of forms away from the traditional paintings and sculptures of the old world. His love of bright colors and bold patters along with his quirky personality paved the way for his successful career as a major figure in the pop art movement. Warhol was born in 1930, in the town of McKeesport, Pennsylvania. His parents were Czech immigrants. After his father died, Andy was forced to support his family through odd jobs. He worked his way through Carnegie Tech., Pittsburgh where he studied commercial art. After graduation, Warhol moved to New York where he launched a successful career as an illustrator. He began producing “Pop” pictures in 1960 with works based on Popeye, Nancy and Dick Tracy comics. These early works were first shown as back drops for department store windows and were painted in loosely brushed style based on Abstract Expressionism. Warhol’s first works using comic material tended to soften hard professional gestures and aggressive vocabulary of the texts and images. Warhol countered the scrupulous accuracy of the original genre with imprecision and deliberate error. In doing so, he soiled the comic strips narrow-minded ideological and decorative purity. Andy Warhol’s next series, depicting the mass-produced goods of Compels Soup cans and Coke bottles, captured the clean-edged look...

Words: 486 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Betsey Johnson

...Mr. Spence | Pop Art | A Creative American art movement | || Art 0150/03 | | Art Research project “Pop Art” Beginning in Britain in the late 1950’s, Pop Art was an exquisite way to express independence around the society, during this time Britain was emerging from ‘post war’ years. Pop art began as a movement that expressed modern times. The first people to begin using the term Pop Art was a group of artist who called themselves The Independent Group. These students attended the Institute of Contemporary Art in London. The meaning of pop art is to appreciate popular/mass culture, otherwise known as the “visual art movement”. Before pop art, artist used abstract ways to compel their paintings. They also used geometric shapes in their pictures, such as circles, lines, triangles, cubes and cones. Pop artist embraced post W11 and the media boom from after the war. Pop art began as the marketing for commercial goods and the endorsement of the products the society socialized. After World War 2, there were many new ads were circulating and many more products were appearing. People began watching T.V. and movies; artist noticed the trend and started to use common ads as symbols of their art. The majority of Pop artist began their careers in commercial art such as Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, and James Rosenquist. Andy Warhol is a famous Pop Artist. Warhol’s works explored artistic expression, celebrity culture, advertisement and marketing that boomed in the...

Words: 700 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Andy Warhol

...Andy Warhol Andy Warhol was born in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 6, 1928. In 1945, he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Institute for Technology, where he studied pictorial design. He quickly moved to New York City, where he would develop the 1960s Pop art movements. He landed a job with Glamour magazine in September 1945, doing drawings. He also drew advertising for Vogue, Harper's Bazzar, book jackets, and holiday greeting cards. His first solo exhibition was held at Hugo Gallery, New York, in 1952. It featured drawings to illustrate stories by Truman Capote. (Hou, 1990) He received many accolades for his work, including the 35th Annual Art Directors Club Award for Distinctive Merit in 1956, and the 36th Annual Art Directors Club Medal and Award of Distinctive Merit in 1957. (Hou, 1990) In 1962, he exhibited the paintings of Campbell's soup cans, which has become a “Pop Art”icon. His most famous celebrity models include Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Mick Jagger and Mao Zedong.(Hou, 1990) His portrait " Eight Elvises" sold for $100 million dollars in 2008. It is known as one of the most valuable paintings in world history. (Hou, 1990) Warhol began to make his first paintings in 1960, based on comic strips and Coca-Cola bottles. In November 1964, opened his own art studio known as "The Factory",became know to frequent nightclubs like Studio 54 and Max's Kansas City,and began his self portrait series. (Hou, 1990) (Warhol...

Words: 579 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Andy Warhol

...Andy Warhol Looking back over the past century or so, there were few artists that really stood out and became household names. One of these people was Andy Warhol— “the soup can guy.” To set the tone let me give you a quote to chew on: “What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.” –Andy Warhol Now, right off the bat, you can tell what kind of guy Warhol is, and his attitude toward life. Yes he took his art seriously but if you read his book The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again) you will see that’s pretty much the only thing he really took seriously. Warhol, born Andrew Warhola on Aug. 6, 1928 , to Slovakian parents didn’t come from a well off family. His parents were working class immigrants in Pittsburgh. When Warhol was in third grade, he came down with St. Vitus’ Disease, a nerve disorder that causes involuntary movements and thought to be a complication of scarlet fever, which “changed his appearance and his life forever.” Despite this complication...

Words: 725 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

The Politics of Pop Art

...Do you agree that Pop art is a critique of the values of post-War urban culture in the United States or is there some validity in the arguments that suggest that Pop art is another representation of profit-based propaganda? Select works from two or three artists to examine this question. Pop art was born out of the needs of Post-war America and its capitalist driven economy, where consumption was key and everything was a commodity that had to be readily available. The diversity within the movement arose from how the Pop artists approached this culture of post-war America, whether it was through parody, fetishization, or just pure replication; as well as what aspects of the culture they chose to reflect on. The sheer diversity of themes and styles covered by the various pop artists means that one cannot be too reductive when analysing this art movement. It is therefore with this in mind that this essay will examine just two Pop artists, Andy Warhol and Tom Wesselmann, to examine both artists’ use of commercial methods teamed with images borrowed from popular culture and how they established their own unique technique and style to reflect on the capitalist culture rising in America. Post-war America was a time of great growth and development, as America moved into a position of political and economic leadership, newfound pride in the American way of life and American culture flourished. The economic boom meant newfound freedom for Americans, as having money and freely spending...

Words: 3298 - Pages: 14

Free Essay

Andy Worhol

...1)Andy Warhol was born on August 6, 1928 and died on February 22, 1987. He was a famous American artist who used many forms of media, including hand drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, silk screening, sculpture, film, and music. He was also a pioneer in computer-generated art using Amiga computers that were introduced in 1984, two years before his death. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became a well-known and sometimes controversial artist. 2)Andy Warhol was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. Pop art emerged in the mid-1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. The movement had grown very large by the 1960’s. Pop art challenges the traditions of fine art by including imagery from popular culture such as news or by responding to clever advertisements. Pop art often incorporates irony and consumer goods and usually with very bright colours. Artists often used pop art to communicate to people and let everybody know their thoughts on different issues. Most pop art are variations of well known, everyday objects. 3)Warhol’s works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement. Throughout the course of his pop art era he focused on four main subjects: product paintings, cartoon paintings, movie stars, and death. These paintings showed popular consumer items that were familiar to the average American person, such as Brillo soap pads, Coca-Cola bottles, and...

Words: 368 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Postmodernism and Consumerism

...Abstract This essay employs a visual analysis to compare and contrast Andy Warhol’s ‘Blue Marilyn’ with Roy Lichtenstein’s ‘In the Car’ in association to the postmodernist theme of Consumer Culture and more explicitly, the introduction of Pop Art, born from post-war consumerist societies. The argument refers to eight scholarly research sources, three of which are scholarly journal articles. POSTMODERNITY AND CONSUMERISM: WIT, INVENTION AND THE AFTERMATH OF WAR Research Statement: Using a visual analysis, compare and contrast Andy Warhol’s Blue Marilyn with Roy Lichtenstein’s In the Car in association to the postmodernist theme of Consumer culture and more explicitly the introduction of Pop Art; born through post-war materialisation. The Postmodernist Cannon of the latter twentieth and twenty-first Century Art is a crucial anthology, signifying radical and innovative movements that differentiated from Modernist art practices. It signifies a period of time whereby practitioners sought to contradict the rebellious experimentational aspects of Modernist art through re-visioning and revitalising media to fit the metamorphosing culture. Incorporated within the Cannon were several movements that were heavily influenced by the rise of Consumer cultures, dictated by the post-war explosion of advertisement in the 1950’s, compelling practitioners to manipulate and transform their style in either awe of the perpetually adapting society or in rebellion towards the mass produced...

Words: 2088 - Pages: 9