Facts About Andy Warhol Art
Andy Warhol is an American artist who was born in 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After showing an early talent for drawing and painting, Warhol studied commercial art at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh and graduated in 1949. He then moved to New York City, and while working at magazines such as Vogue and Harpar's Bazaar, he became one of the world's best known pop artists.
Andy Warhol and Pop Art
Andy Warhol is credited as being one of the most prominent artists associated with American pop art. The pop art movement began in Britain in the 1950s and later moved to America in the early 1960s. Pop art drew inspiration from mass media images such as advertising, consumer products and even comic books. This type of art was accessible and easily understood by everyone and thus was appealing to a wide audience.
Andy Warhol and Hollywood Celebrities
Early in his career, Andy Warhol was interested in using celebrities in his work. Hollywood idols such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Elizabeth Taylor were popular models for his silkscreens. However, Warhol did not start using Monroe as a model until after her death. Warhol's use of the commercial technique of silkscreening gave the work an artificial look, which could have revealed Monroe's image as a carefully structured illusion, according to the Museum of Modern Art website.
Andy Warhol and Consumer Images
Besides celebrities, Warhol was also interested in using advertising and consumer images that appealed to mass audiences in his work. His most iconic image is that of the Campbell Soup can. In 1962, Warhol exhibited "Campbell's Soup Cans," a work comprised of 32 canvases, each with a different variety of Campbell's soup. When first exhibited, the canvasses hung uniformly on the gallery wall in rows, like grocery shelves. Warhol also used commercial images of Coke bottle tops, Brillo soap pads and Heinz ketchup bottles.
Andy Warhol and The Factory
To mass produce his work, Warhol opened "The Factory" in 1962. "The Factory" was an art studio where Warhol employed workers to produce his work as prints and posters, mostly using the silkscreen technique. His art became a mass production, just like the many images he used within his work. "The Factory" was originally located on East 47th Street in New York City and later moved to 860 Broadway in 1974. At "The Factory," Warhol and his workers also created over 300 bizarre underground films. The first film, called "Sleep," simply featured a man sleeping for over 6 hours.
Andy Warhol's Art in the 1970s
Following a murder attempt by a Factory worker named Valerie Solanis, Warhol's work changed dramatically in the 1970s. Instead of mass producing his art, he started doing individual portraits of people he found to be influential, such as Mick Jagger, Brigitte Bardot and Michael Jackson. Besides his art, Warhol started a magazine called "Interview" as well as a nightclub. Even though Warhol died in 1987, his work continues to be quite valuable. According to the World Collector's Net website, a silkscreen print called "Little Electric Chair" sold at Christie's Contemporary Art Auction for $2.3 million in 2001.
