Andy Warhol on Canvas

1986 Self portait -- Picture courtesy nga

by blogSpotter
Andy Warhol is one of the most celebrated, iconoclastic pop artists of the 20th century. The son of Slovakian immigrants, Warhol studied art at Carnegie Mellon and began his career as a commercial artist on Madison Avenue. Warhol diverged away from commercial art, and yet he always was a confirmed capitalist whose art paid homage to commercialism (Campbell's soup, Coke) and was itself mass-produced via silk-screen in the interest of making money.

Warhol was a multimedia genius who served up art in various forms: Interview magazine, movies like Trash and Chelsea Girls, and even involvement with the rock group Velvet Underground. By the 70's, Warhol became more famous for being famous, hanging out with the glitterati at Studio 54. He was shot by a deranged protégé, Valerie Solanas, during a 1968 photo shoot -- his health and creative energy never made a complete recovery from this assault. He died unexpectedly at 58, from complications of a gall-bladder surgery. His estate took nine days to auction and brought in 20 million dollars.


Marilyn -- Picture courtesy nga

Warhol's most famous pieces are of Marilyn and the Campbell’s soup can. His influence however, is ubiquitous in virtually every form of pop art created post-1960. Once dubbed, "the white mole", the pale-skinned Warhol was a shy but witty social critic as well as an artist. He had quite a few remarks which almost could rank with the observations of Truman Capote or Oscar Wilde. Below are some of his comments that survive to entertain us along with his art:

"Buying is much more American than thinking, and I'm as American as they come."

"I never fall apart because I never fall together."

"Sometimes at parties I slip away to the bathroom just to see what colognes they've got".

"If everyone's not a beauty, then nobody is."

"Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art."

"I am a deeply superficial person."

"I like to be in the right thing in the wrong place and the wrong thing at the right place."

"I believe in low lights and trick mirrors. A person is entitled to the lighting they need."

Warhol was and is an American treasure -- his image doesn't suffer even under the brightest of lights.

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