works by Andy Warhol they represent a legacy for today's society, where each of us has his 15 minutes of fame, just as this controversial character predicted. I invite you to know all the details in this interesting article!
Works of Andy Warhol
refer to the works by Andy Warhol is to talk about the multiple facets of this artist born in Pennsylvania in 1928, who is considered today as the founder and greatest representative of the important and ingenious artistic movement called Pop Art, which is mainly based on consumer culture of the postwar
The real name of this controversial American painter, publicist, writer, editor, actor and filmmaker was Andrew Warhola. However, in 1949 due to a misprint in a magazine that had published one of his works, he made the decision to drop the last letter of his surname.
works by Andy Warhol, as happens with most artists, they have the stamp of their time. In this case, that of consumerism and globalization. In this way, this ingenious pop artist always showed through his art everyday life as another product for consumption.
Thus, among the main works by Andy Warhol related to the literary world, the following can be mentioned:
25 Cats named Sam and one blue Pussy
It is a limited edition book promoted by Andy Warhol and his mother Julia Warhola in 1954. It contained watercolor drawings in vibrant tones of the Pop Art style made by Warhol. It also included the calligraphy of Mrs. Warhola.
The work was, practically, an illustrated guide, although it only had the portraits of 16 cats and not of the 25 that were owned by both. In addition, there was an error in the title of the book, caused by the omission of a letter d, which Warhol consciously decided to ignore.
Popism The Warhol Sixties
It is an unpublished diary-like book in which the artist Andy Warhol shows his point of view about the pop phenomenon that developed in New York City in the 60s. In it he reveals his anecdotes, encounters and stories with various characters of the time, among which are: friends, protégés, collaborators and relatives.
In the same way, it evokes the clubs, events and social parties, as well as the sex and drugs that in some of these places can become frequent. He even narrates his experience with death, product of the attack suffered in 1968.
a, a novel
It is the result of a recorded conversation between the Factory: Ondine superstar and Andy Warhol, which occurred in short periods of time over approximately two years and was stored on 24 tapes.
The book is an accurate representation of those conversations. It even includes typos that typists made during the transcription process. In addition, this work differs from the others because it is a Roman key, that is, the characters that are considered fictitious are actually real people barely disguised. It's basically about discovering the secrets and intimate details of certain characters close to the Factory.
Andy Warhol's philosophy (My philosophy from A to B and from B to A)
It is an autobiographical book through which Andy Warhol shows the world in a critical and ironic way the society of the time. Its publication dates back to 1975 and consists of just under 250 pages, full of ironic quotes, but aware of the artist.
The work is based on the idea of the supposed relationship of camaraderie that can be established between two individuals: A, in this case the artist, and B, who can be anyone, who spend time talking about money, love, success. , death, beauty, old age, work, among others. In short, through this book Andy Warhol gives his sincere and irreverent vision of the world around him.
The Andy Warhol Diaries
This important work is the product of the last 10 years of Andy Warhol's life, specifically from 1976 to 1987. Basically they are comments and opinions of the artist about various characters of the New York society of the time, which he himself dictated daily to his secretary.
Among the characters that were mentioned in Andy Warhol's diaries are actors, actresses, writers, politicians, millionaires, fashion designers, athletes, musicians, journalists, painters and other celebrities in general.
One of the topics he touched on multiple times was AIDS and his fear of contracting it. In addition, on several occasions she made derogatory mention of certain characters who possibly suffered from said disease.
The book, which consists of almost 1000 pages, was published two years after his death, that is, in 1987. Later, in 2007, it was translated and published in Spanish.
America
It constitutes the compilation of the main works of Andy Warhol during two decades of work, through which the artist shows the controversies of the America that he observes, knows and describes.
It can be considered as a love story between the artist and the United States. It is a beautiful and contradictory book, the product of a decade of photos and archives of the artist.
wild strawberries
It is an unfinished work by Andy Warhol in collaboration with Suzie Frankfurt, which consisted of a series of handmade cookbooks. Precisely due to the delicate manufacturing process, they only managed to produce 34 copies.
Not obtaining the expected results, since there were not many requests in this regard, both artists decided to give away some copies among their relatives. After which they shelved the project.
Many years later, in 1997, a direct relative from Frankfurt found the ancient treasure and decided to make it public.
Cats, cats, cats (Cats, cats, cats)
The first thing to mention about this book is that it was neither written nor edited by the artist, but rather is a compilation of multiple works belonging to the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts.
As its name indicates, it includes beautiful and original images on one of his favorite subjects: cats.
Main topics
As we have mentioned, works by Andy Warhol they are recreated in the facts of everyday life, capturing a large number of ideas from various topics. In this way, it is common to find among his works images that deal with everything from car accidents to suicides, passing through tragedies, natural disasters and catastrophes. He even went so far as to produce quirky images about electric chairs and race riots.
To the same extent he produced works where the protagonists were public figures. In some cases he showed heroes, villains and gangsters. Other common themes were fame, desire, power, money, and infamy. Similarly, the artist never left aside his beginnings in marketing and advertising, especially mass consumer products.
On the other hand, from his role as a filmmaker he dealt with other issues, such as sex and drugs.
Warholian Ideas
In general terms, Warhol was inspired by the world around him, characterized mainly by the growth of consumerism, a consequence of the mass production of multiple products in the society of the 50s and 60s.
On the other hand, it is necessary to comment that the works by Andy Warhol They represent the foundations of our current society, since they are based on a time when advertising and marketing began to expand.
In his own way, this iconic artist wanted to represent the loss of individuality and the raison d'être of objects as they are produced in large volumes. In some of his works, he also wanted to capture the end of the consumption chain, beginning the era of the posterity of objects even when they disappear.
In this regard, it is important to note that the works by Andy Warhol they are not limited to showing only the essence of mass consumption products, such as cigarettes or cans of soup, but also include the use of the image of some celebrities and public figures, and even of himself.
Finally, it should be mentioned that the artist saw in his works the possibility of creating economic capital, starting from a symbolic capital. This was made possible by transforming his works into mass-produced merchandise.
The facets of Andy Warhol
works by Andy Warhol, through their extensive variety, transformed the concept of art. From then on, the artist was able to use any means to immortalize his work and equally enjoy the high acceptance of the public assiduous to Pop Art.
In this way, there are different facets of the artist, depending on the field in which he entered. Among them the following can be mentioned:
Painting
From his beginnings, Andy Warhol dedicated himself to creating advertisements and comic book illustrations in hand painting, becoming in 1955 the most famous commercial painter in New York. However, years later, seeking to differentiate himself from other celebrities of the time and appear in the main art galleries of New York City, he ventured into the field of screen printing.
Serigraphy
Good part of the works by Andy Warhol refer to the use of serigraphic techniques. So then, in 1960 he produced one of his most important works, called Before and After, which consisted of the reproduction of a black and white advertisement using screen printing.
After her, there were many more works by Andy Warhol that had the hallmark of the author: showing the deficiencies and expectations of the public from another perspective, always out of context.
Thus, after this first silkscreen-style work, many others followed, such as: Campbell's Soup Cans and Marilyn Monroe, just to name a few of his main works in this style.
Among the artistic icons that are shown by Andy Warhol using this fantastic technique are: Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, John Lennon, Mickael Jackson, etc.
Photograph.
From a very young age, Andy Warhol had contact with photography, using cameras as tools to immortalize the reality he perceived from home when he was only 10 years old.
Later, in the early 70s, he resumed his passion for this field, in which he remained constant until his death. It was through photography that he produced many of the images for which he is known today.
In the same way, photography constituted a visual diary of the artist's life. Thanks to her, it was always known where he was every day.
Filmmaking
On the other hand, in the 60s the works of Andy Warhol took a turn, this time thanks to underground cinema. His main objective was to experiment, adapting the serigraphic concept to the language of cinema.
In this way, through the company that he himself created and called Factory, in 1963 he filmed the movie Blow job. Which dealt with the cultural manifestations of dissident sexualities in New York, introducing in it the sense of repetition, as in serigraphy. Similarly, during this facet of the artist, he himself tried to produce superstars, showing them once again as products for consumption.
Music
Another of the many facets of this artist takes us to music, where in 1965 he became the manager of the rock band known as The Velvet Underground.
Summary
Andrew Warhola, better known as Andy Warhol, was a multifaceted artist born in Pennsylvania in 1928. He was the founder and greatest exponent of Pop Art culture.
Faced with the consumerism of the time in which he lived, he responded by transforming any product, object or celebrity into art. This also represented for him the best way to accumulate economic capital.
Among his main works in the literary field, the following can be mentioned: Cats, cats, cats, America, Andy Warhol's diaries, Popism The Warhol Sixties, My philosophy from A to B and from B to A, among others.
He began as an illustrator of advertisements and comic-like images, but over the years he explored other areas, such as screen printing, film, music, and others.
works by Andy Warhol they are a response to the lack of identity and meaning of the products that are mass-produced, a consequence of the phenomenon of consumerism in the post-war period in the United States.
Among the public figures and celebrities who were portrayed and exhibited as part of Andy Warhol's art, we can mention: Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, among others.
If you have come this far you may also be interested in reading the article on the art theory. In it you will find all the details about the main theories, as well as the concept of art in the last centuries. Of course, information on the most significant authors cannot be missing.