Andy Warhol

Who was Andy Warhol? Andy Warhol was a painter, printmaker, photographer, sculptor, film maker, illustrator, and musician. He is considered the man who started Pop Art. Warhol’s artworks depicted famous actors, actresses, and musicians as well as popular brands of household items and foods. His artwork is brightly colored, multicolored, and abstract.

What is Pop Art? Pop Art began in the 1960’s when people really became interested in actors/ actresses and musicians and when advertising became a big business. The “pop” in Pop Art stands for the word popular which means everyone knows something. Pop Artists depicted popular things in their artwork, things that people recognized and knew. Some popular people Andy Warhol included in his artworks included Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, and Michael Jackson. Popular items included Campbell’s soup cans, bananas, and shoes.

Andy Warhol’s Pop Art People This is Marilyn Monroe, she was a famous movie actress from the 1960’s. This is actually a print, not a painting, why would a print be better for this piece? Are these portraits realistic or abstract? How do you know? Are there any specific color schemes used here?

This is John Lennon, a musician best known for being part of The Beatles. Again, this is a print, like the last work we looked at. Does Warhol use value in his artwork? What is value and why might it be used? Do you think these prints are done from observation? Support your answer.

This is Muhammad Ali, a famous boxer for the 1960’s. Do you think repeating the same person over and over again in the same artwork makes it less interesting? Is there value used in this artwork? What do you think it’s purpose is? Why do you think Andy Warhol is inspired by famous people?

Andy Warhol’s Pop Art Products Can you identify any specific color schemes on any of the Campbell’s Soup cans? Is there any value on the cans? Do you think that the cans were drawn from observation? Which artwork do you think would be worth more, this one, or the one of John Lennnon? Why? Why would Andy Warhol choose to do printmaking for most of the works you have seen?

What did Andy Warhol to do keep this artwork from being “too bland?” Who do you think would buy an artwork all about Coca-Cola bottles? Are tints and shades used in this print, if so, where? Even though the bottles are very small, do you think Warhol drew them from observation?

When creating any type of artwork (two dimensional or three dimensional) about food, why might texture be important? How does the texture in this print help to create value?

Does a banana seem like artwork to you? Why or why not?