Warhols Contribution towards Pop Art and the World - Term Paper Example

Name: Tutor: Subject & Code: Date: Andy Warhol Précis Warhol was famous for his pioneering role in the artistic movement dubbed pop art. He created several prints and films, in addition to records, through his career (Kirkpatrick). He died in 1987 at the age of 58 after cardiac surgery. Following his death, Warhol’s works became objects of many retrospective museums and exhibitions. His works have achieved some of the highest prices, for up to US$100 million, comparable to legendary works by Gustav Klimt, Vincent van Gogh, Jackson Pollock and Pablo Picasso. This paper explores Warhol’s biography, career, background, Art work and His influence and contribution towards Pop art and the world. Biography Andy Warhol was an American artist whose works explored the relationship between advertisement, celebrity, culture and artistic expression that prospered between 1950s and 1980s. He was born on August 6, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His parents, Julia and Andrej Warhola were Carpatho-Rusyn (Slovakia) immigrants. Warhol went to Holmes School in Dawson Street, where his family lived. He pursued free art classes at Carnegie Institute. Apart from drawing, he loved taking picture. At the age of nine, Warhole had developed a strong liking for photographs. He enjoyed taking photos, which he would develop in his family’s basement (McDonald). Warhol’s parents were working class proletariat. His father worked at a coal mine. Warhol came from a religious family and attended his church services at St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church. During his childhood, he was frequently sick. He suffered from a nervous disorder called chorea. He also suffered from hypochondria. Because of this, he frequently missed school as he was often bedridden. While in bed, he could frequently collect pictures of famous movie stars, drew, listened to radio and read a lot of comic books, all of which helped shape his later life (Egs). His father died in 1942 in the same year that Warhol had joined Schenley High School. After graduating from high school, he joined Carnegie Institute of Technology (modern-day Carnegie Mellon University), where he studied between 1945 and 1949. He graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts in Pictorial Design. During his university years, he had the goal of becoming a commercial illustrator. Warhol relocated to New York City to pursue a career as a commercial artist. He later became a filmmaker, painter, sculptor, publisher and cartoonist (McDonald). Warhol died on February 22, 1987 in New York City, from a ‘sudden post-operative cardiac arryhythmia. He was in the process of recovery from gallbladder surgery at the New York Hospital. Career Warhol started his career with commercial art after studying fine arts in college. Following the expansion of the record industry in the 1950s, he was invited to design album covers and promotional materials. It was during this time that many artists engaged in commercial art, although they kept their artistic ambitions obscured. Almost in opposition, Warhol made success as an illustrator. This triggered criticisms that he was not taking art seriously. Warhol hired many assistant to boost his productivity, making him significantly prolific (Egs). Warhol’s first fine arts were displayed in a group exhibition in New York, at the start of the 1950s. Afterwards, he had to wait until the start of the sixties to debut his solo exhibitions. The first was in 1962 at Eleanor Ward’s Stable Gallery, where he exhibited several works including ‘100 Dollar Bills’, ‘100 Coke Bottles’, ‘100 Soup Cans’ and ‘Marilyn Diptych’. It was at this event that he met John Giorni, a poet who would later star in Warhol’s film called “Sleep’ (McDonald). In 1960s, Warhol painted, as well as made films. Between 1963 and 1968, Warhol made some 60 movies. In the 1970s and 1980s, he continued to paint. He also ventured into publishing and started magazine called the Interview, as well as other books about his life and pop art (Schroeder). In the 1960s, Warhol’s life took another turn as he started to focus on iconic American products and celebrities. Using his silkscreen printing method, he created painting of Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, Marilyn Munroe among many other celebrities. The Factory gradually became a meeting point for many artists, writers and celebrities (Egs). He decided to make himself a name in pop art. Pop art was a new form of art that had originated in England in the 1950s. It consisted of realistic renditions of popular everyday items. Warhol was criticised for appearing to surrender to consumerism because of his preoccupation to pop art. He claimed that Coca-Cola was a symbol of the United States as it transcended all social barriers and social classes being affected. Alongside other artists, such as Robert Watts and Billy Apple, Warhol exhibited his works at Paul Bianchini's gallery, which sold autographs for US$6. Overall, his career was characterized by self-representation, which formed the lifeblood of his works, as well as all other self-portraits that he made during his lifetime. His 1986 self-portraits are globally recognized as his last greatest artistic gesture that echoes his seminal works of the 1960s (Rosenberg). Background Warhol grew up in Pittsburgh with his two older brothers and his two parents. As a young boy, he liked to color, draw and cut and paste picture. Warhol’s mother was also artistic and encouraged him to involve himself by giving him gifts such as chocolate bars each time he successfully colored his book (Schroeder). He also has pink blotches on his skin that affected his self-esteem. During high school, he attended art classes at school and at Carnegie institute. He felt like an outcast since he was generally quiet and had extremely white blonde hair and pale skin. He loved going to the movies and began collecting celebrity memorabilia, specifically autographed photos. Some of these pictures were exhibited in his later artworks (Egs). During his college years at Carnegie Institute of Technology, he learned the blotted line technique that required him to tape together two pieces of blank paper, before drawing then in ink on a page. When the ink was still wet, Warhol would attach the two pieces of paper by pressing them together. The outcome consisted of a picture that had irregular lines, which would color using watercolor (Rosenberg). After Warhol finished College in 1949, he moved to New York where he swiftly earned a reputation for his technique of using blotted-lines in a range of advertisements in the 1950s. Among his most popular ads included Christmas cards for Tiffany & Company. He also created albums and books (Schroeder). His influence and contribution towards Pop art and the world Pop art He decided to make himself a name in pop art. Pop art became a new style of art that had started in England in the 1950s. It comprised realistic renditions of popular everyday items. Warhol averted from the blotted-line technique and opted to use paint and canvas. He started with comic stripes and Coke bottles although this type of work failed to get the attention of what he desired. In late December 1961, he gave a $50 to a friend who suggested an idea of painting what he desired most, such as soup or money (McDonald). He painted both. His first-ever exhibition in an art gallery happened in 1962 at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles. Warhole exhibited his canvases for the Campbell’s soup, which he sold at $1000. Warhol and his pop art movement were numerously criticized as the works were related to surrendering to consumerism. For instance, he claimed that Coca-Cola was a symbol of the United States as it transcended all social barriers and social classes being affected (Schroeder). Alongside other artists such as Robert Watts and Billy Apple, Warhol exhibited his works at Paul Bianchini's gallery, which sold autographs for US$6. His popular drawing called Campell’ sold for an estimated $1,500. It was among Warhol’s first exhibitions that confronted a larger audience. Among his famous works include the 1962 release of the film “Sleep”, where Jogn Girmi featured. Among his most widely reviewed was Chelsea Girls, where Warhol projected two 16 mm-films concurrently with the projected sound for one before being projected for another project (Egs). Indeed, in the 1970s, Warhol’s work became more consumerist and committed much of his time to making portraits for affluent clients, such as Liza Minnely, Mick Jagger and John Lennon. It is also in the 1970s that he also did his famed Mao Zedong painting. In the mid-1980s, Warhol reappeared partially because of his comradeship with successful artists, such as Enzo Cucchi, David Salle and Julian Schnabel. In the same period, he created his famous Michael Jackson painting (Rosenberg). At that time, he faced heavy criticisms for being too superficial and commercial artist who provided no depth in his works. On the other hand, other critics who perceived the spirit of America in the seventies in his works praised him. Warhol earned the title the ‘Pope of Pop’ as an attribute to his role in the development of pop art. In pop art, celebrities, popular subjects and mass products were integrated in the artists’ palette. His paintings were emblematic of Campbell’s soup cans that he stated had taken most of his life. He had found that making his painting on canvas was relatively slow. In July 1962, he started using silk-screening. The technique involves using a specifically prepared part of the silk as stencil, which allowed a single silk-screen to create identical patterns several times. He produced the images of the celebrities with silkscreen, including several of Marilyn Monroe (Rosenberg). Artwork In 1949, his works were debuted in the Glamour magazine. In the 1950s, he became among the most successful illustrators in the United States. Towards the end of 1950s, Warhol started to apply himself more to painting. In 1961, he had his first pop painting based on ads and comics. This marked the start of his celebrity. He introduced his famous “Campbell’s Soup Can’ series in 1962. Soon afterwards, he started making a large series of movie star portraits, such as Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe. In the same period, he started his large series of “death and disaster” paintings and towards 1968, he worked with his Superstar performers and many other individuals to come up with several films. Among his legendary works include the Empire (1964) and the Screen Test (1964-1966). He held his first exhibition sculpture in 1964 that consisted of several replicas of boxes. From here, he introduced his new studio that was painted in silver, which quickly earned the name “The Factory.” He tested his new sphere of performance art, dubbed “The Exploding Plastic Inevitable.’’ Warhole returned to painting in 1984. This time round, he collaborated with young artist and use brush to paint rather than silkscreen method (Schmuckli). Music Warhol took over a band called the ‘Velvet Underground,’ which he converted to become a multimedia performance art show. He became the band’s manager and in 1966, they produced their first album. He also designed numerous album covers for several artists such as John Wallowitch, Rolling Stones and John Cale. Books and print Warhol also made significant contributions in the publishing industry. In the early 1950s, he produced numerous unbound portfolios of his works. His popular self-published books include ‘25 Cats Name Sam’ that was printed in 1954, other include Holy Cats, Wild Raspberries and A Gold Book. Performance Arts Warhol also influenced the development of performance arts. Together with his friend, they staged theatrical multimedia occurrences at public venues and parties by combining film, slid projections and films (Jones and Stephenson 29). Paintings In 1960s, Warhol made contributions in art as a commercial illustrator. Among the examples included the detailed drawings of I. Miller shoes, which became very popular. Warhol also made significant contributions to pop art. Pop art was then an experimental form of art and had been adopted by several artists, such as Toy Lichtenstein, who also became synonymous with the pop art movement. Films Warhol made significant contributions to the film industry. He painted, did photography, drawings as well as sculpture. He became renowned as a prolific filmmaker. He made some 60 films between 1963 and 1968. Among his famous films included “sleep” (Schmuckli). Conclusion Overall, he was a productive artist who produced copious works between 1962 and 1980s. Among his famous paintings include the “Ladies and Gentlemen’, ‘Zeitgesit’, ‘Mao’, ‘Shadows’, ‘Mao’, ‘Knives’ and ‘Dollar Signs.’ His very last exhibitions were the Last Supper painting that was showed in Museum and the “Sewn Photos” that were exhibited in New York. Warhol was famous for his pioneering role in the artistic movement dubbed pop art. He created several prints and films, in addition to records, all through his career. He died in 1987, at the age of 58 after cardiac surgery. Following his death, Warhol’s works became objects of many retrospective museums and exhibitions. His works have achieved some of the highest prices, for up to US$100 million, comparable to legendary works by Gustav Klimt, Vincent van Gogh, Jackson Pollock and Pablo Picasso. Works Cited Egs. “Andy Warhol – Biography”. The European Graduate School. 19 May 2014, Kirkpatrick, Nick. “$30.1 million for Andy Warhol’s ‘selfie’”. Washington Post, 15 May 2014. 19 May 2014, McDonald, Thomas. “Warhol: His Catholicism, His Celibacy, His Art.” Patheos, 15 Oct 2012. 19 May 2014, Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Andy Warhol", 2014. 19 May 2014, Schroeder, Jonathan. "Andy Warhol: Consumer Researcher" Association for Comsumer Researcher, 24.1 (1997): 476-482 Schmuckli, Claudia. "Andy Warhol: The Last Supper". SoHo: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 1999. 19 May 2014, < http://pastexhibitions.guggenheim.org/warhol/> Jones, Amelia and Stephenson, Andrew. Performing the Body/performing the Text. Psychology Press: New York, 1999 Read More