The King of Pop Art: Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol is one of the pioneers of the pop art movement, and he is especially known for his Marilyn Monroe’s pop art work. He was such an artist that his art encompassed multiple art forms which are from performance art to filmmaking, from video installations to writing (Biography, 2014). His art had an influence on various sort of art forms. In this article, the brief history of his works as well as his individual life will be explained.

 

 

Andy Warhol was born in 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His parents were Slovakian immigrants. His father, Andrej Warhola, was a construction worker and his mother, Julia Warhola, was an embroiderer (Biography, 2014). When he was 8, he got Chorea disease which left him bedridden for months (Biography, 2014). During this time, his mother gave him first drawing lessons which became his favorite childhood activity (Biography, 2014). He was also taking photographs thanks to the camera that his mother bought him when he was 9 (Biography, 2014). He also set up a darkroom in their basement floor where he attempted to make one of his first films (Biography, 2014). When his father Andrej passed away, young Andy Warhol was given a scholarship that enabled him to enroll in Carnegie Institute for Technology.

 

When he was studying at the Carnegie Institute for Technology, he met with some criticisms from professors who did not always approve of his unique style (Scarisbrick, 2018). In fact, he had to do extra work during the summer school to remain in a good academic standing (Scarisbrick, 2018). He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1949 (Scarisbrick, 2018). When he graduated from college, Warhol moved to New York City to pursue a career as a commercial artist (Biography, 2014). When he moved to New York, he dropped the “a” at the end of his last name and became Andy Warhol (Biography, 2014). His first job in New York was in Glamour magazine where he became one of the most successful commercial artists of the 1950s (Biography, 2014). He won various awards for his unique style which he used his own blotted line technique and rubber stamps to create his drawings (Biography, 2014).

In the late 1950s, Warhol started to devote his time more to paintings (Biography, 2014). In 1961, he made debut the concept of “pop art” which is known as paintings focused on mass-produced commercial goods (Biography, 2014). In 1962, he exhibited the Campbell’s soup cans which became icons and got people’s attention ( Biography, 2014). In other words, these small canvas works of daily-use consumer products had a major attraction in the art world, and it brought both Warhol and pop art into the national spotlight for the first time (Biography, 2014). In addition to this, Warhol’s family roots influenced his “Campbell’s Soup” work which his mother’s choice for lunchtime staple prompted his Campbell’s Soup series (Sotheby’s, 2020). Beside this, his 210 Coca-Cola bottles was the first Warhol work to pass the $1-million at Sotheby’s in 1988 (Sotheby’s, 2020).

Andy Warhol’s ‘Factory’ studio was quite famous in New York City (Scarisbrick, 2018). The Factory was a place for intellectualism, art and sexual intrigue (Scarisbrick, 2018). Warhol invited multiple artists including drag queens, musicians, and drug addicts to his studio. Moreover, some of his films such as Harlot (1964), The Nude Restaurant (1967), and Blue Movie (1969) focused on sexual intrigue (Scarisbrick, 2018). In addition to this, Warhol also showed his creative side in video art and he produced more than 60 films during his career (Biography, 2014).

Apart from this, the public figures such as David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Madonna, Halston, Liza Minnelli, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono constantly hung out in the Factory studio (Scarisbrick, 2018). In fact, Lou Reed’s song, Walk on the Wild Side, gives credit to this studio for its events and guests (Scarisbrick, 2018). For instance, in the song, Lou Reed pays tribute to hustlers and transvestites that he met in the Factory studio (Biography, 2014). In the verses of the song, some individuals who were fixtures of the legendary studio in the 1960s including Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, “Little Joe” Dallesandro, “Sugar Plum Fairy” Joe Campbell, and Jackie Curtis were depicted (Biography, 2014). In addition to this, Warhol managed Lou Reed’s band, the Velvet Underground (Biography, 2014).

 

As it can be understood, Andy Warhol was the pioneer of the pop art movement, and his art piece titled as Marilyn Diptych is the emblem of this movement. First of all, he used an image that already existed so he did not draw the picture or take the photograph himself. In fact, the photo came from a press release (Scarisbrick, 2018). For instance, some of the colored Marilyns are off, and many of her black-and-white photos are distorted. In this sense, Warhol’s art shows us how artistic genius he was (Scarisbrick, 2018). Besides this, in the 1960s, drag queens were seen still as periphery. However, it was not the case for Andy Warhol. Drag queens were constant visitors of his Factory studio and they became an integral part of his art machine (Scarisbrick, 2018). They were no longer seen as freaks or danger, but rather drag queens were incorporated into the artistic movement of Andy Warhol in the Factory (Scarisbrick, 2018).

 

In his later life, Warhol, unfortunately, suffered from a chronic disease with his gallbladder (Biography, 2014). In 1987, in New York Hospital where his gallbladder was successfully removed and he seemed to get better (Biography, 2014). However, after days, he suffered complications that caused cardiac arrest, and all of a sudden he died on February 22, 1987, at the age of 58 (Biography, 2014). Thousands of people attended a memorial ceremony for Andy Warhol at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City (Biography, 2014).

To conclude, Andy Warhol is one of the starters of the pop art style. He was not only influential with his pop art works but also with his videos and films. In addition to this, he also contributed to other artists’ artworks in a way, and he was mentioned in their songs or albums. Even if he is dead now, it can be seen that his works and his legacy remain in the world and they will make him live forever.

WORK CITED

Biography (2014, Apr 2). “Andy Warhol”. A&E Television Networks. Available at

https://www.biography.com/artist/andy-warhol

Sotheby’s (2020, Feb 13). “21 Facts About Andy Warhol”. Sotheby’s. Available at

https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/21-facts-about-andy-warhol

Scarisbrick, B. (2018, Feb 1). “10 Fun Facts About Andy Warhol”. Cultural Trip. Available at

https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/new-york/new-york-city/articles/10-things-you-didn-t-know-about-andy-warhol/