Friday, January 13, 2012

A Tribute to the Prince of Pop



ANDY WARHOL


                    Andrew Warhola was born August 6, 1928 in Pittsburgh, PA to Slovak immigrants. His father was a construction worker and died when Andy was only 13 years old. Andy showed artistic talent from an early age but was stricken with a neurological disorder also. His art was his escape. He studied commercial art in college at, Carnegie Institute of Technology. After moving to New York City in 1949 and working with magazines such as Vogue and Harpar's Bazaar, he became one of the most sought after artist in the city. 
                  In the 60's Warhol painted objects like soup cans and coke bottles. He also produced silkscreen prints of Celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Warhol liked depicting mass produced products and believed that art should be mass produced saying, 
                "When you think about it, department stores are kind of like museums",


In 1962 he opened The Factory, where workers mass produced all of his art and silkscreens. In July of 1968 Valerie Solanis attemped to assassinate Warhol and while he did survive he never fully recovered from this incident. After this he started making more individual works instead of mass productions and even opened his own night club. 
                 Andy was...flamboyant to say the least and most thought he had a bizarre personality. His friends described him as a workaholic. He knew the only way to succeed was through hard work and said that "making money is an art". Andy died in 1987 at the age of 58 due to gall bladder complications. 


This brief biography just scratches the surface of Andy Warhol's life and achievements. To express his effect on the art world would be impossible with words, it simply speaks for itself. He is the epitome of the 60's and 70's, the rebellion, the change, the "bizarre personailty". 














          I love that Andy made whatever he wanted, he was daring and didn't care what other people were going to think about it. And he wasn't obsessed with making random paintings that would end up being world treasures either, not that that's wrong. But he wanted to share it with everyone he could possibly get it to. Andy had a message to get across, whether about life or politics and he wasn't scared to tell people. Art was Andy's escape and he wanted to spend every living second engulfed in it. Even after his death, Andy continues to effect the art world. His prints are still being sold and in accordance with his will The Andy Warhol Foundation was founded. It serves to encourage and support the work of new contemporary artist, like Andy was in his time. Andy understood that art was interpreted in different ways to everyone of every culture and these new artist just needed someone to understand. 


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