Andy WarholBy Molly

Eder

Andy Warhol

Bizarre

Influ

ential

Iconic

Enthusiastic

Innovative

Unique

PassionateIngenio

us

Modern

Imaginative

Research Questions

Andy Warhol was shot on June 3, 1968.

• Did this event affect America at all?

• What kind of effect did Andy Warhol have on the world?

• Did his creativity inspire just the artistic community, or did he have an impact on the rest of society as well?

Early

Life

Born Andrew Warhola

Born on August 6, 1928

American, but of Slovakian descent

Mother: Julia Varchola

Father: Ondrej Varchola

Last name “Varchola” was Americanized into Warhola; Andy later changed it to Warhol

Grew up in Oakland in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Graduated from Shenley High School on June 8, 1948

Contracted many illnesses as a childChorea (disease of the nervous system)

Scarlet fever

Hypochondriac (fear of doctors and hospitals)

Attended the School of Fine Arts at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University)

Moved to New York City in 1949

Gained fame and popularity throughout the 1950s

Artistic Works“ The world

fascinates me”

General InformationWarhol never exactly told the meanings of his works

Art was repetitive

Worked mostly in his studio in New York City

He named his studio “The Factory”

Pop art was the essence of Warhol

Relied on observations for ideas

Made pieces specifically for people and events

Used brightly contrasting colors together

Silk Screen Printing

Most common type of art Warhol produced

Usually done on canvas

How silk screen printing works:1. Select an image

2. Crop the picture

3. Film positive

4. Exposure

5. Underpaint

6. Final print

7. Multiples with different colors

Cars

Warhol commonly created many silk screen prints of cars

Often depicted car crashes

Made the “Art Car” in 1979Racecar painted with random bursts of color and designs

Obsessed with car crashes…because his father died in a car crash when he was just thirteen?

Death and Disaster Paintings

Showed the impact of the most powerful media images during the time

Depicted car crashes, suicides, civil rights fatalities, pictures of the electric chair, riots, and other unfortunate events

Focused on violence and death

WHY? Warhol was fascinated about how he could capture everyday life and tragedies within a frame

Candy Darling

Transsexual (male to female)

Warhol was always open to new ideas, including photographing “different” people

Candy Darling was portrayed multiple times throughout Warhol’s works

Warhol in turn played a huge part in Candy’s life

Andy himself was gay (supposedly)

Video ArtWarhol had the opportunity to try the movie camera early in its development

Recorded, captured, documented, and interviewed

Once recorded himself painting on a canvas-the work is now known as Hammer and Sickle

Interviews and DocumentationsWarhol had odd interview ideas, such

as recording them in a taxi or on a bed

Interviewed actors, celebrities, or basically anyone who he found

interesting

It sometimes seemed a lot like “home videoing”

Documented himself in interviews and videos

Even the time he donned feminine clothes and makeup as a drag queen

for a special photo shoot

Videoed a family with children at the beach

Created a few television commercials

Film and TVRecorded short television programs

Fashion, makeup, runway shows, male models, celebrities, designers

Andy Warhol’s TV ShowUsually consisted of interviews with interesting people

Warhol was very fascinated by people’s day-to-day lives

Lasted two seasons

Andy Warhol’s 15 MinutesShowed people and their opinions

Only 4 episodes

Warhol created the term “15 minutes of fame”

CollectionsWarhol was a collector of beautiful,

common, and unusual objectsPlates, curtains, oriental fans, food trays,

miniature statues, snow globes

Religious Works☩ Silk screen printed crosses, The Last

Supper, and angels

☩ Was a Ruthenian Rite Catholic

Ten Punching Bags

Depicts Jesus on each punching bag with judge written on each multiple times over

his face

Message: Jesus took the blows

Bizarre, controversial, disturbing

New TechniquesTried different things for galleries

Added dimension to his workFirst accomplished this by displaying photos and silk screen printings of celebrities and iconic people of the time

Later used objectsSilver Clouds

Wanted to attract more viewers

“Everybody must have a fantasy”

Silver Clouds

Andy Warhol’s Interview

Magazine collection

Interviewed many famous peopleMadonna, Shirley Temple, Bette Midler, Cher

AttemptedMurder

June 3, 1968

Shot by Valerie Solanas while working in his studio

Suffered multiple injuriesStomach, esophagus, spleen, liver, and lungs

Heart was massaged to try to stimulate movement

Suffered effects of the shooting health-wise for the rest of his life

Solanas was arrested the following day

Shooting was not greatly publicized - President Kennedy was assassinated just two days later

Was eventually made into a movie entitled “I Shot Andy Warhol”

Valerie Solanas was as extreme feminist

Claimed that Warhol had “too much control over her life”

Later, she stated, “It’s not often that I shoot somebody. I didn’t do it for nothing”.

She turned herself into police

Member of S.C.U.M. ManifestoStands for “Society for Cutting Up Men”

Most likely had a mental illness

Death

Died on February 22, 1987 in New York City

Died in his sleep while recovering from a gallbladder surgery

Oral HistoryWith Ms. Biega

Do you think that Andy’s father’s car crash somewhat prompted or

encouraged Andy to create so many works of car accidents?

“Maybe…I also think that making art is therapeutic. Artists should feel good about their work. It’s basically processing events

through art. Andy wanted people to notice his work. To achieve this, he created art that

made people think about things they normally didn’t think about, or things they didn’t want

to think about, such as death.”

Did religion play a part in Andy’s career?

“Andy had a strict religious background. Even if he wasn’t practicing, he never

really let go of those beliefs. Therefore, I think that he was rebellious, yet

conservative, because of his beliefs. For example, many people thought that he was a drug-user and an alcoholic, but

Andy never did, probably because of the way he was raised.”

Would you consider Andy Warhol as a pioneer for all artists?

“Definitely. He was friends with many celebrities and became one of the

biggest artists, mainly because of his pop art. He tried things that nobody

had ever done before. He mixed classy art with modern twists.”

Did Andy’s shooting affect America? Did the shooting, more importantly, affect Andy’s ability to produce art?

“The shooting did affect America, but it didn’t really affect Andy’s art. He was

already an icon, so it just took his fame to another level. But I don’t think his artwork really changed at all. He had

many workers and employees helping. I do think, though, that it affected him

mentally. It made him feel vulnerable.”

Research Question

Andy Warhol’s shooting affected America, but to an extent. It concerned the art world, but some still did not really care. Andy Warhol

was an inspiration to artists, musicians, designers, and so many different people. His works were always sophisticated, but had an

edge that made them interesting and set them apart. Andy definitely reached beyond

making an impact on just the artistic community; he was an American icon who showed everyone a new perspective to art

and to life.