Andy Warhol Essay, Research Paper

Andy Warhol

1928-1987

Born-Forest City, Pennsylvania

Andy Warhol was born in 1928 in Forest City, Pennsylvania. He attended Schenley High School in Pittsburgh until 1945 when he moved on to college. After graduating from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie-Mellon University, in June of 1949, Andy Warhol moved to New York City. In New York, he met Tina Fredericks, art editor for Glamour Magazine. She led him to his early jobs such as doing drawings for Glamour and women’s shoes. He also drew book jackets, holiday greeting cards, and advertising for various magazines, including Vogue and Harper’s Bazzar. His mother eventually moved in with him, and Fritizie Miller became his agent. His mother and Fritizie inspire him to be an artist. In 1952, his first solo exhibition was held at Hugo Gallery, New York, of drawings illustrating stories by Truman Capote. One of Andy Warhol s most important accomplishments was the Campbell s Soup Can which was displayed in 1965 at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York.

If you want to know all about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings and films and me, and there I am. There s nothing behind it. — Andy Warhol

The Campbell s Soup Can was made with polymer paint on canvas. Andy Warhol painted the already existing can, which many people had believed he invented the design himself. He used red, white, and black paint to create the can of tomato soup. He is best known for his frequent use of silk screening to reproduce images such as brillo pads. His silk-screened works would often use repeated imagery to make the subjects become another artistic element. Andy Warhol was very successful in his art pieces with using space, as seen in his paintings of brillo boxes stacked upon each other.

I think that Andy Warhol s life was very interesting because he explored many forms of art including producing movies and music. He also tried new things like paint-by-number and celebrity prints. I think that I would put some of Andy Warhol s work in my room because the colors match and he has a certain style in his artwork that catches my eye. I like how he expressed his ideas by turning it into an art piece. I would probably hang the artwork from my wall in front of my vision when in bed so I can see it when I go to sleep and awake. Andy Warhol was a great artist and his artwork will be remembered forever.