Andy Warhol - Pop Superstar
Andy Warhol is the undisputed superstar of American Pop Art. His pieces fill the gap between fine art and commercial art by elevating celebrities and industrial images to deity status. Warhol single-handedly made Campbell Soup cans and Brillo boxes emblems of industrialism while turning them on their head. The artist spotlights the ugliness and beauty of mass production and challenges the very core of American culture.
In 1962, Warhol developed an innovative technique for silk screening commercial labels, film stills, and photos directly onto canvas. Every image reflects an inner life that evolves each time it’s reproduced.
Warhol’s repetition of imagery is never quite the same as the next - similar to movie stills that vary slightly from frame to frame. With each iteration, a new truth is revealed. Warhol’s passion for movie stars inspired his foray into filmmaking at the Factory later in his career.
Painting series Death in America, Mao, Skulls, and Rorschach merge the artist’s fascination with death and a war-ridden social climate torn by assassinations of our nation’s political leaders. As we move deeper into the world of automation, civil unrest, and horrific blows to humanity, Warhol's visionary works resonate with audiences today as much as yesterday.
The Andy Warhol Museum houses an extensive collection of the artist’s work in all media from the 1940s to the 1980s. Glance at the artist's sketchbook from his early years in NYC’s commercial art scene to map the success that lead up to his 1960’s portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Elvis.
The artist’s colossal-scale late works feature hand-painted depictions of pop imagery, the Last Supper, Camouflage series as well as collaborations with Jean-Michel Basquiat. Visit the Andy Warhol museum's website warhol.org or peruse Warhol items at the MoMA Store store.moma.org.