Andy Warhol: From Skipping Grades to Pop Art Icon - Essay Sample

Introduction

Andy Warhol is an American artist who is known as a leading role in the visual art movement known as pop art. In 1944, Warhol skipped two grades based on his aptitude and was admitted to the Carnegie Institute of technology. In this college, he studies different commercial graphic designs where he later vacates to New York after graduation to seek his fortune. In college, Warhol had a small amount of money to spend, making him share an apartment with seventeen other people. Following those hurdles of life, Warhol, through his silver-lined factory, made a revolution to modern arts. This paper shall explore scholarly articles to analyze pop art by Andy Warhol.

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The old forms of arts had made the historical concern of having a unique and influential representation of different religions and culture playing a significant role in society. Despite that, the emergence of the new post-modernism era slowly interferes with the work of art by making it deviate from serving as a ritual function or religious context. In the 1900s, it was believed by the philosophers that mass production pieces had freed art from traditional boundaries. The infatuation with labels in the United States was adopted as a new trend in the postmodern era. The rise of "Silver Liz as Cleopatra" designed by Andy Warhol influenced the views of society on the value of modern art.

During the post-modern era, Warhol was convinced that loss of something in reflect an image is fueled by a new value created in that thing. In his artwork, Warhol was inspired by Elizabeth Taylor, who features more than once in his work. In one of his pieces, he uses Taylor to be dressed in ancient Egypt costume, with her eyes guided away from her viewers. In this artwork, Elizabeth Taylor's black is painted with her make-up done dramatically. Her role as Cleopatra is shown in snapshots from her movie, where she acts as the main character making her have huge fame.

Every Warhol's painting is inspirational. In every painting, he contrasts and compares different subjects, content, form, innate state theories, and communicative theories. Warhol uses communicative theories through these images to give meaningful ideas. In the artwork "The Gun," Warhol shows how he felt in the period of performing his paintings. He narrates how he began to appreciate his little efforts in painting career. Warhol argues that the cardboard box used to remind him of the conditions a homeless man would sleep in, and the man would eventually wear a soiled shirt. He asserts that from reminiscing over the situation, he begins to appreciate his home and clean his clothes.

In 1949, Warhol had been a famous artist within New York where he also had a job with Glamour magazine where his prowess as a commercial artist bore fruits. By employing the use of rubber stamps and bottle line technique, Warhol was able to win several awards. In modern art, the botted line technique applied by Warhol is different and unique as compared to earlier techniques. By using the messy line, the paintings and the pictures seem disjointed and vintage.

Through his known potential, Andy Warhol created pictures of a cold and later developed a person whom he declared as himself to the public. Warhol desire was that his persona to become manufactured and plastic as displayed by the mass work produced. In that regard, Andy Warhol confines his wardrobe with white and black colors. The reason is based on the fact that when his photograph is printed, he can be easily identified as the white and black figure to the public eye.

At his younger age, Andy Warhol had longed to be popular. He was fascinated by everything that entailed fame, celebrity, and popularity. In his early days, he spent a lot of his precious time reading celebrity magazines to learn how most American celebrities handle themselves in public and spend their lives. Warhol attended major parties surrounded by beautiful people and many celebrities. By interacting with these celebrities, Warhol painted his portrait. By painting the celebrities, he idolized and treasured, he was obsessed with the desire to be famous and feature in Hollywood. He loved Hollywood because the characters were plastic, yet he wanted to be plastic.

In his work as an artist, Warhol reflected on key elements depending on the period, which included personal expression, culture, royalty, religions, and wars. Warhol being talented in various media forms, defined his era with good artworks. At the period of his rise in the industry, he also helps other artists to rise. Warhol is known for his influence on modern art called "pop art." In this context, Pop art consists of pop culture and combined consumerism by designing artworks that question society's norm and giving a stronger influence on the artist's future.

In his later years, Warhol adopted the use of silk-screening. In this context, silk-screening refers to the process where silk is used to develop either stencil or a pattern over-time. The painting that made him popular by using silk-screened portraits entails celebrities such as Chairman Mao of China and Marilyn Monroe. In the process, it was clear that his new techniques, learning process, and the ability to fast paintings drew significant concern. Warhol's professional career begins with commercial art, in which he made various illustrations about his new technique. By using the silk-screen approach, Andy Warhol influenced most of the American, making him a popular figure even today.

In the United States, mass media rely on pop art. His Pop Art had a significant influence on America. Through his Pop art, pop music also becomes more dominant. The style he used in Pop art defined him and in the process made may things to emerge in the field of art in a unique style. For instance, the "100 cans" had two distinct influences. For the first time, Andy Warhol introduced a common object. In essence, most of the common objects were unheard before Warhol's painting. However, after doing his paintings, the use of common practice became a normal approach during that time. Since Warhol was fearless, he helped the artists to overcome the common conceptions about issues that affected the artwork. From another art period, pop art is unique such that it challenged the definition of arts through the artwork of Warhol "100 cans".

One of the artworks of Warhol that influences another artist is "Marilyn." In essence, Marilyn was a reflection of his thoughts towards specific social images and figures. Warhol's work "Marilyn" was created after the sudden demise of Marilyn Monroe. Typically, it was a sign of expressing himself on the public obsession following the death of Monroe. Based on this "social frenzy," Warhol was convinced that the media was obsessed with the iconic appearance of Monroe instead of her as a human being. For Warhol to express his thought on this matter, he deliberately obscures the actual color scale for his printing. When producing the screen, Warhol distributes the ink unevenly. In the process, imperfect and garish images are created of the perfect Monroe's face, which is idolized by the public and the media. Obscuring Marilyn Monroe's appearance helps him to reveal Monroe's personality which is vital to him than her actual appearance. Notably, Warhol seemed obsessed with the banality and power of celebrities and popular culture. Indeed, Marilyn Monroe is a typical example of showing the obsession of the public with people based on their physical outlooks.

Warhol print "Marilyn" portrays a conflict of reality and appearance. In the several printings of "Marilyn," Warhol employed a unique technique on the production color and quality. Marilyn was unique with every gaudy color removed. In essence, Warhol was convinced that beyond the filter, there was something unique about Marilyn Monroe that the public needed to know but was uncovered by the media. Through this unique approach, Warhol significantly influenced the pop art genre through idolizing public figures. Pop art's ultimate theme was centered on the glorification of common objects and popular people.

Andy Warhol's "Green Car Crash" print significantly influences pop art based on the fact that the work never focused on aesthetic elements but instead focus on social messages. Warhol uses "Green Car Crash 'as a personal expression and as a tool to convey messages and show his critiques of the media. The "Green Car Crash" made Warhol the first artist at his time to use his skills to commentate on through the representation of morbid issues by the media. In the contemporary world, the headline that is linked to violence and blood seems as no surprise to the public denizens. Such that the public is not surprised by the repetition of the constant images making them numb to the real horror of the unfolded events. Warhol argues that if a person sees the gruesome picture repeatedly, it does not affect people. In print "Green Car Crash," Warhol uses horrific images repeatedly on the screen. On the screen, the images seem to overlap one another to develop the whole work. Warhol uses the constant overlapping and reprinting of pictures to express how the public have embraced gruesome images based on the fact that they are so common in media platforms.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Andy Warhol contributed significantly to the rise of the new art trends. In his Work, Warhol has reflected on the vital element within his time as an artist on various aspects such as expression, culture, royalty, religions, and war. Based on those facts, Warhol helps the public and the view to understand the meaning and the reason of his artworks. Andy Warhol, through his commercial work, has remained an inspirational and influential figure in American arts. Also, he is known for thinking ahead of his time by using his commercial artwork to help other artists to rise. The concept of pop art that combines pop culture and consumerism has spotlighted the norm within a society mainly fueled by the media that should overcome.

Sichel, J. "'Do you think Pop Art's queer?' Gene Swenson and Andy Warhol." Oxford Art Journal 41, no. 1 (2018), 59-83. doi:10.1093/oxartj/kcx044.

Vilic, N. "Pop-art and criticism of reception of vacuity (the society) in the works of Andy Warhol." SOCIOLOSKI DISKURS 5, no. 9 (2017). doi:10.7251/socen1509071v.

"Warhol, Andy." Benezit Dictionary of Artists, 2011. doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.b00194600.