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Andy Warhol Unscreened Artworks from the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Collection Education resource compiled by Alison Kearney Edited by Lesley Cohen and Leigh Leyde
Andy Warhol is considered to be one of the most influential American artists of the 20th century and part of the Western art movement called Pop art. He was also a filmmaker, photographer, painter, commercial illustrator, music producer, writer and even fashion model. Throughout his career Warhol developed new approaches to artmaking and so challenged the boundaries of art. Warhol has also been a huge influence on current artmaking, making him an exciting artist for South African audiences today. This booklet will guide you along your journey of discovery in the exhibition. It has spaces for you to draw and write down your thoughts about what you see, think and feel. By working in this book you will have made a personal exhibition resource to take home with you.
This book belongs to _________________________________
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Who is Andy Warhol?
Andy Warhol was born on 6 August 1928, in Pittsburgh, U.S.A. He died in 1987 in New York. From an early age Warhol loved popular culture. He was interested in comics, movie stars and taking photographs. After completing his degree in illustration in 1949, Warhol moved to New York City. There he worked as a successful illustrator, winning numerous awards. He designed packaging, made drawings for advertisements of products like shoes, stockings and perfume, and even designed shop window displays. By the late 1950s Warhol began to make artworks that were influenced by his love of popular culture.
Robert Mapplethorpe Andy Warhol, 1986, silver gelatin print Š Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission
Popular culture refers to the ideas, trends, styles, music and fashion that are shared by most people in a society in a particular time.
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Praising popular culture
Warhol’s interest in popular culture as a source of inspiration for art making was shared by other artists, who became known as Pop artists. In contrast to artists who came before them, Pop artists wanted to make art out of images that anybody walking down the street could recognise and relate to. Pop artists used bold, flat colours and commercial methods such as photography and silkscreen printing to create art. These aspects of Pop art can be seen in Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup series. Campbell’s soup is a famous brand of ready made soup, that can be bought at most supermarkets in America.
Let’s draw If you were to make artworks of popular products that are common in South Africa today, such as Zambuck or Sunlight soap, what would you chose? Draw some examples.
Andy Warhol Campbell’s Soup II: Vegetarian Vegetable, 1969, screenprint. Campbell Trademarks used with permission of Campbell Soup Company
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Anything can be art!
Warhol embraced an anything-can-be-art approach to art making. He made use of images from a range of sources for his artworks. Sometimes he took photographs, or he used images found on greeting cards, in newspapers and in magazines without the permission of the person who made them. This is called appropriation. For example, he used a photograph by Patricia Caulfield from a magazine published in 1964 called Modern Photography as the basis for his famous Flowers series. Caulfield sued Warhol for using her work without permission.
Sue
Andy Warhol Flowers (1 of 10 from Suite of Flowers), 1970, screenprints
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means to try to get a court of law to force a person who has treated you unfairly to make up for or repay you for wrongdoing.
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Appropriation as a strategy Warhol used appropriation to question whether an artist had to make the artwork themself for it to count as the artist’s original work. He pushed this idea further by employing assistants to help him make art at his studio, which he called ‘The Factory’. He also used printmaking techniques that supposedly removed the artist’s hand from the printing process. Today, appropriation is often used in art and music making, for example when rappers sample sounds from other musician’s songs. Can you think of any examples?
Andy Warhol Flowers (3 of 10 from Suite of Flowers), 1970, screenprints
Andy Warhol Flowers (6 of 10 from Suite of Flowers), 1970, screenprints
Let’s talk Do you think it’s ok for artists to copy from others when making artworks? Explain your point of view.
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Celebrating the famous
Warhol made portraits of celebrities like Muhammad Ali, the three-time world heavyweight boxing champion and activist, and Marilyn Monroe, the Hollywood actress. Find the series of Muhammad Ali portraits and write down your answers to the following questions in the spaces provided: 1. Why do you think Warhol chose to make a series of portraits of Muhammad Ali?
Portrait 2. What aspects of Muhammad Ali’s character are emphasised in this series of portraits? Explain how you know this.
A painting or other picture of a person, especially the head and shoulders.
Activist A person who works to create change in society.
3. Identify the colours Warhol uses in the artwork you have chosen. Write them down.
4. What effect does Warhol’s use of colour have on the image?
5. How do these portraits make you feel about Muhammad Ali?
Cultural icon Person or image that reflects the aspects of the time he or she lived in. A cultural icon is known by many people of different ages.
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Andy Warhol Muhammed Ali (2 of 4), 1978, screenprint
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The rise to fame
Warhol became as famous as the celebrities he made artworks about. He was frequently featured in magazines and other media, and was well-known for going to fashionable social gatherings. He even had two of the first reality TV shows called Andy Warhol’s TV and Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes. These were broadcast in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Warhol’s status as a cultural icon is captured by the Let’s talk series Andy Mouse, an homage by his friend and How do you know this artwork refers fellow artist Keith Haring. to Andy Warhol? What do you think Keith Haring is saying about Andy Warhol by making him look like Mickey Mouse and putting a dollar sign on his chest?
Innovate To introduce something new or different.
Keith Haring Andy Mouse (3 of 4 in series), 1986, screenprint © Keith Haring Foundation. Used by permission
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An innovative approach to printmaking
Warhol challenged established methods of art making not only through his choice of subject matter, but also through his art making techniques. He made use of silkscreen techniques that he learnt during his time as a designer and illustrator. Before Warhol, artists did not use such printmaking techniques to make art. A silkscreen print takes its name from the tool that is used to make the print. It is made by stretching a fine sieve-like fabric, with a silky texture, tightly over a frame. A stencil of the image to be printed is applied to the screen. The screen is then placed over the surface to be printed on. A paint-like ink is forced through the mesh by applying pressure when pulling a squeegee across the screen. The ink will only pass through areas where no stencil is applied. Each colour is applied one after the other. Stencils can be used multiple times with different colours of ink. The use of screenprint technology enabled Warhol to make many variations of the same image using different colour schemes. Warhol made a lot of money selling his prints.
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Andy Warhol Marilyn, 1967, screenprint
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Let’s look Look at the Sunset series of images, and invent names to describe the different colours you see, for example ‘hot orange’ or ‘custard yellow’. Try to be as outrageous, and imaginative as possible. Think of as many as you can and write them down here.
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Warhol the colourist
Warhol was very interested in experimenting with colour and surface texture. For the Sunset series he created 632 prints of the sun, each with a different combination of colours. He added diamond dust, a glittery powder, to the ink in the Grapes and Myths series in order to draw attention to the surface of the prints. Warhol liked how this material gave the surface additional reflective qualities, glamour and monetary value.
Andy Warhol Sunset (I-IV), 1972, screenprints
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Engaging with social issues
Warhol recognised the power of mass-circulated newspaper images. He used some of his artworks to draw attention to important social issues, such as human rights, and animal and environmental concerns. For his Death and Disaster series Warhol used newspaper images of horrific events. By cropping the images, removing the captions and repeating the same image Warhol mimicked the way that news media would relay the most popular stories again and again. The repetition of the image has the effect of both highlighting the issue, AND making us numb to the horror.
Andy Warhol Birmingham Race Riot, 1964, screenprint
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Let’s find Find an artwork or series of artworks in which Warhol has explored another important social, animal or environmental issue. Write down the title of the series you have chosen and what the issues are.
All children have a right to ... Poster in the Women’s Legal Status Committee Collection of The Historical Papers Research Archive, Wits University
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Art and social activism
Art has the potential to highlight social injustices and can be used in the struggle for justice. Many South African activists have used the silkscreen method that Warhol used to make posters cheaply and quickly to spread their message. The use of flat, bold colours, line drawings and text were used in posters made by the Women’s Legal Status Committee, who fought for women and childrens’ rights. A combination of photographs and text is evident in posters made by the End Conscription Campaign, which fought to end compulsory military service during apartheid.
Let’s write If you were an artist, what social problems would you make artworks about? Why?
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Your turn On the card provided, write about which Andy Warhol artwork you like best and explain why. When you are finished, share your thoughts by placing your card on the response wall. In the Strip Gallery in the museum.
Let’s talk How can making artworks about important social issues help the cause?
Conscription a compulsory enrollment of persons for military service.
Construction not conscription Poster in the End Conscription Campaign Collection of The Historical Papers Research Archive, Wits University
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Bonus activity Many South African artists also make use of silkscreen printmaking techniques. Can you find a South African print that you like on the exhibition titled One colour at a time in the Basement Gallery? in the space below, write down the information from the label provided, and why you chose this work.
Name of artist: Title: Date: Medium: Why I chose this work:
This educational resource was produced in 2017 by Wits Art Museum as part of the educational programme for the exhibition Warhol Unscreened: Artworks from the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Collection. All artworks, except where otherwise noted, are from their collection. All Andy Warhol Artworks Š The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. This resource and the educational programme were made possible by a generous grant from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Paul Emmanuel Design