Memorabilia -> Entertainment Memorabilia
Andy Warhol paintings today are housed in museums, owned by private collectors and released as prints for public consumption. He was born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1928. Though he died in 1987 from complications after gall bladder surgery, his name is still well known today. He’s known as the father of Pop Art, an artistic movement that began to take shape in the 1960s. He also published books and made dozens of short homoerotic films that were often premiered in gay movie theaters.
The famous phrase “15 minutes of fame” was coined by Warhol, who himself was fascinated by celebrities and pop culture. He began his career in the 1960s as a commercial artist and illustrator, and met with resistance when he attempted a career as a serious artist because of his vast commercial work. When his artwork provided the debut of pop art on the West Coast in 1962 in LA, the Andy Warhol paintings on display featured Campbell’s Soup cans, dollars bills, Coke bottles and his very famous brightly-colored portrayal of Marilyn Monroe.
Andy Warhol paintings often depicted celebrities like Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, and were less paintings than reproductions of their photos in almost Day-Glo colors. His artwork was produced via silk-screening which allowed for mass-production, and allowed anyone in his studio, which he called The Factory, to be able to create it.
Andy Warhol paintings became popular very quickly, but they were also controversial because of the method he used to make them and their subject matter. Some of his artwork featured stylized pictures taken right from the headlines, like a picture of a mushroom cloud and civil rights protesters being attacked by police dogs. Anything in American pop culture was fair game for Warhol’s analysis.
With the rise in popularity of Andy Warhol paintings came public discussions about whether or not pop art was really art at all. And two days before Robert Kennedy’s assassination, one of Warhol’s “factory” workers shot him and an art critic at his studio. Warhol nearly died as a result, and few doubt that the shooting affected his life and work from then on.
In the 1970s, Andy Warhol paintings were often of pop culture celebrities like Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, John Lennon and Liza Minelli. His work became more popular again in the 1980s even as it was more openly criticized as being shallow and without depth or a true understanding of its subject.
Andy Warhol paintings, though, as many critics realize now, were meant to be not just pieces of art but an accurate reflection of the “surface” pop culture, with what appeared to be merely surface treatments of its subjects. He was also criticized for being in the “business” of art. But he described making money as art, and good business as the best art of all.
Andy Warhol paintings cost thousands of dollars, but his books, prints of his paintings, his avant-garde short films and other memorabilia can be found online in auctions and specialty shops.
Originally posted 2008-12-09 05:00:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts -
Collecting Film Memorabilia There are many actors, actresses, movie scenes and other film moments that are memorable and popular years after they initially came into the limelight. As a result, many people collect film memorabilia as a way to relive their favorite movie moments, or to commemorate their favorite movie heroes. Although the...... -
Looney Tunes Cartoons Memorabilia -> Entertainment-Memorabilia -> Movie-Memorabilia While many of us recognize Looney Tunes cartoons from their run on television, they actually ran in movie theaters for 39 years, from 1930 to 1969. They were Warner Bros.'s first theatrical animated series. The term Looney Tunes also refers to the animated cast of...... -
Vintage Pin-Up Posters Memorabilia -> Movie Memorabilia -> Posters Vintage pin-up posters represent a popular movie and magazine phase of US history. The ultimate pin-up girl was Marilyn Monroe, without whom no collection of vintage pin-ups would be complete. She was the pin-up queen of the 1950s, a sex symbol, and was considered...... -
Beatles Memorabilia Memorabilia -> Music Memorabilia -> Rock, Pop-> The Beatles Out of all of the rock groups that rose to prominence in the 1960’s, none took the world by storm quite like The Beatles and since then, Beatles memorabilia has been a hot commodity. There are fans that have built up...... -
The Three Stooges Memorabilia -> Entertainment-Memorabilia -> Movie-Memorabilia The Three Stooges, years after they made their last film together, are still wildly popular with both adults and children alike. Their films are available on DVD and appear on television, they’re referenced in pop culture, and even have music dedicated to them, like......
Related Websites - Financing the Unemployed Networkers Congress is debating yet another extension of unemployment benefits because thousands are losing theirs. Democrats want to pay to for it by maintaining an extra tax on employers that was supposed to be temporary. In short, more tax and spend. Republicans want to use stimulus dollars to fund the benefit......
- Bitchy Battlin' The new Mariah Carey single Obsessed video was just released. Saw it. Heard it. The music itself is nothing innovative or even really catchy but will no doubt be bumped by all the thirty-something rich girls and twenty-something gays that I guess make up her fan base. This isn't what's......
-
Are You The Type To Burn Out Or Fade Away? This is a philosophical question that probably impacts the way you approach not only fitness, but life in general. Would you rather be the kind of person that burns out, or fades away? Can you find a happy medium? Those who burn out I jokingly refer to my engineer friends...... - Book Review Blog Carnival Welcome to the May 10, 2009 edition of book review blog carnival. book reviews NathanKP presents “Jellicoe Road,” by Melina Marchetta posted at Inkweaver Review - Book Reviews & Cover Art. Woman Tribune presents Stop Training Sitters, Put Everyone on the Same Page with By The Book posted at......
-
Renewing the Folk Music Movement with Acoustic Musical Instruments Seth Lakeman, a folk music star that is nominated for a Mercury Prize has been talking about the acoustic of folk music and acoustic musical instruments. For example, Lily Allen's new single is featuring a banjo solo, which would not have happened in years past but now apparently seems to......
