Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol has far exceeded his fifteen minutes of fame. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1928 to Czech immigrants, Warhol became one of, if not the central, figures of Pop Art, and remains an enduring American icon. After graduating from the Carnegie Institute of Technology with a degree in pictorial design, Warhol moved to New York City and worked as a commercial artist and illustrator throughout the 1950s. His wonderful illustrations for I. Miller Shoes won him additional high profile clients. Warhol ignored any conventional distinction between commercial art and “real” art in both subject matter and process. He used silk-screen techniques to mass produce works, often ceding the hands-on work to friends and assistants. He focused on things he “liked”, such as soup, celebrities and common images from popular culture. Warhol refused to explain or comment on his work, leaving the public and the media to figure out what his art meant. His New York studio, dubbed “The Factory” was a revolving door of artists, hangers on, and famous/infamous people. On June 3, 1968 Warhol was shot in his studio by Valerie Solanas, a writer who had apparently taken offense to his rejection of her play. After this, The Factory’s coterie of party-goers diminished. Warhol was interested in music, and acted as producer for The Velvet Underground. His work in film also ignored conventions of narrative, technique and subject matter, often focusing on the banal (someone sleeping for six hours), the controversial (overtly homosexual themes), and the pulp (Frankenstein, Dracula). Warhol co-founded the fashion and popular culture magazine “Interview” and published several books including “The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again).” Andy Warhol died on February 22, 1987 from complications of a gall bladder operation.
