Post on 19-May-2015
Andy WarholBy Molly
Eder
Andy Warhol
Bizarre
Influ
ential
Iconic
Enthusiastic
Innovative
Unique
PassionateIngenio
us
Modern
Imaginative
Research Questions
Andy Warhol was shot on June 3, 1968.
• Did this event affect America at all?
• What kind of effect did Andy Warhol have on the world?
• Did his creativity inspire just the artistic community, or did he have an impact on the rest of society as well?
Early
Life
Born Andrew Warhola
Born on August 6, 1928
American, but of Slovakian descent
Mother: Julia Varchola
Father: Ondrej Varchola
Last name “Varchola” was Americanized into Warhola; Andy later changed it to Warhol
Grew up in Oakland in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Graduated from Shenley High School on June 8, 1948
Contracted many illnesses as a childChorea (disease of the nervous system)
Scarlet fever
Hypochondriac (fear of doctors and hospitals)
Attended the School of Fine Arts at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University)
Moved to New York City in 1949
Gained fame and popularity throughout the 1950s
Artistic Works“ The world
fascinates me”
General InformationWarhol never exactly told the meanings of his works
Art was repetitive
Worked mostly in his studio in New York City
He named his studio “The Factory”
Pop art was the essence of Warhol
Relied on observations for ideas
Made pieces specifically for people and events
Used brightly contrasting colors together
Silk Screen Printing
Most common type of art Warhol produced
Usually done on canvas
How silk screen printing works:1. Select an image
2. Crop the picture
3. Film positive
4. Exposure
5. Underpaint
6. Final print
7. Multiples with different colors
Cars
Warhol commonly created many silk screen prints of cars
Often depicted car crashes
Made the “Art Car” in 1979Racecar painted with random bursts of color and designs
Obsessed with car crashes…because his father died in a car crash when he was just thirteen?
Death and Disaster Paintings
Showed the impact of the most powerful media images during the time
Depicted car crashes, suicides, civil rights fatalities, pictures of the electric chair, riots, and other unfortunate events
Focused on violence and death
WHY? Warhol was fascinated about how he could capture everyday life and tragedies within a frame
Candy Darling
Transsexual (male to female)
Warhol was always open to new ideas, including photographing “different” people
Candy Darling was portrayed multiple times throughout Warhol’s works
Warhol in turn played a huge part in Candy’s life
Andy himself was gay (supposedly)
Video ArtWarhol had the opportunity to try the movie camera early in its development
Recorded, captured, documented, and interviewed
Once recorded himself painting on a canvas-the work is now known as Hammer and Sickle
Interviews and DocumentationsWarhol had odd interview ideas, such
as recording them in a taxi or on a bed
Interviewed actors, celebrities, or basically anyone who he found
interesting
It sometimes seemed a lot like “home videoing”
Documented himself in interviews and videos
Even the time he donned feminine clothes and makeup as a drag queen
for a special photo shoot
Videoed a family with children at the beach
Created a few television commercials
Film and TVRecorded short television programs
Fashion, makeup, runway shows, male models, celebrities, designers
Andy Warhol’s TV ShowUsually consisted of interviews with interesting people
Warhol was very fascinated by people’s day-to-day lives
Lasted two seasons
Andy Warhol’s 15 MinutesShowed people and their opinions
Only 4 episodes
Warhol created the term “15 minutes of fame”
CollectionsWarhol was a collector of beautiful,
common, and unusual objectsPlates, curtains, oriental fans, food trays,
miniature statues, snow globes
Religious Works☩ Silk screen printed crosses, The Last
Supper, and angels
☩ Was a Ruthenian Rite Catholic
Ten Punching Bags
Depicts Jesus on each punching bag with judge written on each multiple times over
his face
Message: Jesus took the blows
Bizarre, controversial, disturbing
New TechniquesTried different things for galleries
Added dimension to his workFirst accomplished this by displaying photos and silk screen printings of celebrities and iconic people of the time
Later used objectsSilver Clouds
Wanted to attract more viewers
“Everybody must have a fantasy”
Silver Clouds
Andy Warhol’s Interview
Magazine collection
Interviewed many famous peopleMadonna, Shirley Temple, Bette Midler, Cher
AttemptedMurder
June 3, 1968
Shot by Valerie Solanas while working in his studio
Suffered multiple injuriesStomach, esophagus, spleen, liver, and lungs
Heart was massaged to try to stimulate movement
Suffered effects of the shooting health-wise for the rest of his life
Solanas was arrested the following day
Shooting was not greatly publicized - President Kennedy was assassinated just two days later
Was eventually made into a movie entitled “I Shot Andy Warhol”
Valerie Solanas was as extreme feminist
Claimed that Warhol had “too much control over her life”
Later, she stated, “It’s not often that I shoot somebody. I didn’t do it for nothing”.
She turned herself into police
Member of S.C.U.M. ManifestoStands for “Society for Cutting Up Men”
Most likely had a mental illness
Death
Died on February 22, 1987 in New York City
Died in his sleep while recovering from a gallbladder surgery
Oral HistoryWith Ms. Biega
Do you think that Andy’s father’s car crash somewhat prompted or
encouraged Andy to create so many works of car accidents?
“Maybe…I also think that making art is therapeutic. Artists should feel good about their work. It’s basically processing events
through art. Andy wanted people to notice his work. To achieve this, he created art that
made people think about things they normally didn’t think about, or things they didn’t want
to think about, such as death.”
Did religion play a part in Andy’s career?
“Andy had a strict religious background. Even if he wasn’t practicing, he never
really let go of those beliefs. Therefore, I think that he was rebellious, yet
conservative, because of his beliefs. For example, many people thought that he was a drug-user and an alcoholic, but
Andy never did, probably because of the way he was raised.”
Would you consider Andy Warhol as a pioneer for all artists?
“Definitely. He was friends with many celebrities and became one of the
biggest artists, mainly because of his pop art. He tried things that nobody
had ever done before. He mixed classy art with modern twists.”
Did Andy’s shooting affect America? Did the shooting, more importantly, affect Andy’s ability to produce art?
“The shooting did affect America, but it didn’t really affect Andy’s art. He was
already an icon, so it just took his fame to another level. But I don’t think his artwork really changed at all. He had
many workers and employees helping. I do think, though, that it affected him
mentally. It made him feel vulnerable.”
Research Question
Andy Warhol’s shooting affected America, but to an extent. It concerned the art world, but some still did not really care. Andy Warhol
was an inspiration to artists, musicians, designers, and so many different people. His works were always sophisticated, but had an
edge that made them interesting and set them apart. Andy definitely reached beyond
making an impact on just the artistic community; he was an American icon who showed everyone a new perspective to art
and to life.