Artist Analysis - Andy Warhol updated

Andy Warhol

Andrew Warhola was born on 6 August 1928 in Oakland. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania into a Byzantine Catholic family. His parents were Slovakian immigrants and much of this heritage was instilled throughout his childhood. At the age of eight, Warhola contracted Chorea, a disease affecting the nervous system. Due to this, he was bed-ridden and his mother taught him to draw at this time. At fourteen, his father passed away because of having a jaundiced liver; he didn’t attend the funeral because of being so distraught.

In 1949, Warhola got a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and moved to New York, dropping the ‘a’ at the end of his surname to become known as Warhol. He worked for Glamour magazine and became one of the most successful commercial artists of the 1950’s. He debuted the concept of Pop Art, which is the mass production of commercial goods. Pop Art recognises the persuasive nature of materialism and consumerism using flat imagery and usually bright colours. The Pop Art movement began as a revolt against traditional views on what art should be and was inspired by consumerism, pop music and Hollywood movies. During this period, in 1964, Warhol opened his own art studio which was named “The Factory “.  In 1968, Warhol was shot by an aspiring writer and feminist and was seriously injured. While recovering, he spent weeks in New York hospital and went onto publish books in the 1970’s like The Philosophy of Andy Warhol. This event could’ve perhaps made Warhol feel that he had to isolate himself from the outside world because if not, he would be in danger. It could’ve made him feel like an outcast and so he perhaps used camouflage to remove his identity and appear as more of a part of general society, rather than having morals which oppose the majority view.

In the piece “Camouflage”, Warhol uses acrylic paint and a silkscreen print. In his other work, he also uses a blotted line technique and rubber stamps. Silkscreen printing is also called screen printing, this is where a screen is used with a template on and ink is pushed through the screen and onto the selected surface. The image that is revealed in crisp and neat, it can also be replicated many times to produce several prints. He depicts everyday consumer goods like Campbell’s soup and Coca-Cola. In “Camouflage” there are 4 silkscreen prints of camouflage lined up horizontally. From left to right, traditional camo colours are used, followed by red, pink and white, then blue, grey and yellow, then dark red, dark blue, blue and off-white.

The form of “Camouflage” is 2D and each print is 1830mm x 1830mm. There is a strong contrast between darker and lighter colours in this piece. The far-left print has colours such as olive, canary, antique pewter and obsidian. The left-middle print is red, coral and terracotta, the right-middle is cyan, aqua, yellow ochre and cerulean. Finally, the far right is ivory, crimson, royal blue and violet. The work has a smooth texture as it is a silkscreen print with acrylic paint, this gives it a sleek finish.

Multiple prints allow multiple colours to be used, along with acrylic paint.  As the prints are arranged horizontally, they are viewed left to right as this is what we naturally do. This also occurs because the eyes are drawn to the first print as is it something that we recognise as it is in traditional camouflage colours. As you look along, the colours get further from reality. Repeating patterns appeared to interest Warhol, as it is seen in many of his pieces of work. By varying the colours of the camouflage, the military symbolism is removed and emphasises the idea of hiding your identity or perhaps sheltering yourself from the outside world. Warhol was known for hiding his identity, for example his homosexuality when he was younger. He also wore makeup and wigs to cover any of his personal insecurities. He was also known for being quite closed, this was shown in his interviews where he would give one word replies or short responses. Furthermore, he could’ve reprinted camouflage to remove his own identity as a push to try and become what you would expect of an American citizen. He may have done this to conform with the majority view of the country based on morals. However, Warhol may have produced this piece in a protest to conformity and to promote individuality. As the colours of each print become more differentiated from the expected camouflage ones, it suggests that people shouldn’t be afraid to be individualistic and challenge society’s standards.

I have been influenced by this idea of camouflage and hiding. I have been collaging photographs of my Dad’s service in the army in the shape of camouflage, to form objects like trousers and broken bottles. I have been using black and white to create tonal representation like Warhol does. However, I am going to look at creating more tone by using stronger contrasts between dark and light colour. I am looking at the idea of hiding by having different backgrounds and using the camo-shaped photographs to cover parts of this. I have used painted backgrounds in colour and white, I have also worked onto flat card and corrugated card. The corrugated card gives more texture than Warhol’s prints but the amount of dimension this gives interests me. Warhol’s work has inspired me to think about the deeper meaning of hiding behind camouflage and this is what I intend to explore.

Week 9

This week I have looked at different ways of printing as this is how Warhol created most of his work. I first of all looks at monoprinting and produced a series of subtractive and additive prints. I preferred using the subtractive method as it is more striking.

However, I went on to use subtractive and additive methods together and found that this created a more interesting composition. I printed this on to wet paper and used a wet paper towel to take away ink. This allowed the shapes to bleed into one another and represented camouflage more as the shapes were attached.

Furthermore, I experimented with polyprinting. I found that with this the same print can be made over and over again, like Warhol did, however these don't produce the same tidy finish as his methods.

I used two colours in this and liked how the black sections aren't just a block colour. This fragmented look almost makes the camouflage appear distorted. I then looked at the difference between positive and negative space in the following prints.

The first print is more prominent as I used enough ink, however I like the second print as this isn't limited to one area, like the square around the first one. The first print connotes isolation and I don't believe it should as soldiers are the people who gave us freedom in this country following the World Wars. Although, this isolation could present the mental disorders that many suffer after serving in the forces. The second print could be repeated again and again, perhaps in different shapes to present other objects, like medals.

Week 8

In this week I have been working onto a different surface; cardboard. I began with collaging camouflage shapes onto the surface, but found that this didn't provide much depth.

Then I went on to stick camouflage shapes onto square pieces of card and layered these on top, giving the composition a more fragmented look.

As this isn't what I was trying to achieve, I developed upon this and cut around the card in the shape of the photograph. I layered this on top of the first layer but found that this composition is too busy with the same idea of collaging camouflage.

To combat the busyness, I used the same technique as in the previous experiment but instead I arrange them differently - I created one surface of camouflage. This makes the photos that are on card more prominent.

I began to look at backgrounds and sampled different techniques using white emulsion paint. I used a sponge for one and a spoon for the other, whilst forming camouflage-like shapes. I used the collaged the photographs that were stuck onto card and arranged them in a single layer.

This composition looks more interesting as there are two layers of camouflage in different textures; photographs and paint. The paint appears expressive and gives a sense of confusion. This effect is successful as it shows how a uniform hides the idea of having sporadic thoughts and possible lack of certainty as to what happens whist on tour.

I next decided to pursue using a sponge to create a softer, almost fabric-like texture.

 I used the colours of camouflage (black, green and brown) and applied the acrylic paint with a sponge in patches. By using corrugated card, there is more texture and the composition has become to represent the framework of an Anderson shelter which was used in the Second World War. By layering the photographs on top, it makes it presents how the troops are protecting civilians at home in the Anderson shelters by fighting back against the enemy.

Artist analysis - Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol

Andrew Warhola was born on 6 August 1928 in Oakland. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania into a Byzantine Catholic family. His parents were Slovakian immigrants and much of this heritage was instilled throughout his childhood. At the age of eight, Warhola contracted Chorea, a disease affecting the nervous system. Due to this, he was bed-ridden and his mother taught him to draw at this time. At fourteen, his father passed away because of having a jaundiced liver; he didn’t attend the funeral because of being so distraught.

In 1949, Warhola got a Bachelor of Fine Arts and moved to New York, dropping the ‘a’ at the end of his surname to become known as Warhol. He worked for Glamour magazine and became one of the most successful commercial artists of the 1950’s. He debuted the concept of Pop art, which is the mass production of commercial goods. In 1964, he opened his own art studio which was named “The Factory “.  In 1968, Warhol was shot by an aspiring writer and feminist and was seriously injured. While recovering, he spent weeks in New York hospital and went onto publish books in the 1970’s like The Philosophy of Andy Warhol.

In the piece “Camouflage”, Warhol uses acrylic paint and a silkscreen. In his other work, he also uses a blotted line technique and rubber stamps. He depicts everyday consumer goods like Campbell’s soup and Coca-Cola. In “Camouflage” there are 4 silkscreen prints of camouflage lined up horizontally. From left to right, traditional camo colours are used, followed by red, pink and white, then blue, grey and yellow, then dark red, dark blue, blue and off-white.

The form of “Camouflage” is 2D and each print is 1830mm x 1830mm. There is a strong contrast between darker and lighter colours in this piece. The far left print has colours such as forest, avocado, banana and obsidian. The left-middle print is red, coral and goldenrod, the right-middle is carribean, splash, yellow ochre and shadow. Finally, the far right is ivory, crimson, deep azure and violet. The work has a smooth texture as it is a silkscreen print with acrylic paint, this gives it a sleek finish.

Multiple prints allow multiple colours to be used, along with acrylic paint.  As the prints are arranged horizontally, they are viewed left to right as this is what we naturally do. This also occurs because the eyes are drawn to the first print as is it something that we recognise as it is in traditional camouflage colours. As you look along, the colours get further from reality. Repeating patterns appeared to interest Warhol. By varying the colours of the camouflage, the military symbolism is removed and emphasies the idea of hiding more. Warhol was known for hiding his identity, for example his homosexuality when he was younger. He also wore makeup and wigs to cover any of his personal insecurities. He was also known for being quite closed, this was shown in his interviews where he would give one word replies or short responses.

I have been influenced by this idea of camouflage and hiding. I have been collaging photographs of my Dad’s service in the army in the shape of camouflage, to form objects like trousers and broken bottles. I have been using black and white to create more tone like Warhol does. However, I am going to look at creating more tone by using strong contrasts between dark and light colour. I am looking at the idea of hiding by having different backgrounds and using the camo-shaped photographs to cover parts of this. I have used painted backgrounds in colour and white, I have also worked onto flat card and corrugated card. The corrugated card gives more texture than Warhol’s prints but the amount of dimension this gives interests me. Warhol’s work has inspired me to think about the deeper meaning of hiding behind camouflage and this is what I intend to explore.

Week 7

During the previous week I looked at a different artist called Pio Abad. He looked at conflict in the Phillipines and this is what influenced his installation '105 degrees and rising' - referring to the tension between the two opposing sides.

 

I used the colour palette from my walk to the Slough as a background, focussing more on the brighter hues like green and yellow.

I layered photographs in the shape of camouflage over the top to create the final product.

The overall outcome has come to look messy as it doesn't have a determined shape. The shape of this is random, but I will look at creating different shapes, perhaps of military related objects. Collaging the photographs in this way is something that I will extend further in my work.

I want to work on a different surface next so I am going to use card in various ways.

Half-term visit to the Herbert Art Gallery

In the half-term, I visited the Herbert Art Gallery hoping to take a look around at the War Games exhibition. However, this was not the case as this had left by the time I got there. Luckily, there was still the exhibition based on Coventry in World War II for me to delve into. I looked at the Home Front during this period and the effects of the war, for example the severe attack on 24 November 1940, when a bomb raid left the cathedral as a burning shell and over 554 people were killed, with over 1000 being injured. Despite all this, the city continued to produce war machinery, with the factories being operated by mostly women 24 hours a day. This proves that morale was kept high throughout the city and so I decided to look at the propaganda surrounding this issue. I found a poster that promotes saving energy, like coal, electricity, gas and paraffin to help ration power.

I have researched the propaganda that was used during World War II to encourage men to join the military and for citizens to contribute to the war effort. The poster above is of Lord Kitchener, one that is famous for driving recruitment in Britain. Propaganda was also delivered over the radio in political speeches, in the newspapers and in leaflets.

While I was there, I also photographed a baby's gas helmet and the old cathedral from the outside. Unfortunately, due to an event being set up inside, I couldn't enter the old cathedral.

In this week I drew a line drawing of a section ofa camouflaged uniform and captured the shape of the pocket. I did another study on a section of uniform and added newspaper, photographs and marker pen to distinguish between each colour in the material. After this, I added more detail with biro, for example the stitching and shadows in the trouser.

I took inspiration from the rationing poster and mimicked the red pattern over the top of some photographs. I applied part of the name and identification number using my finger. The red seems to create an alarm of danger in this because of the photographs being of soldiers, rather than creating an alert for help like in the Coventry poster. The red is very vivid and this comes to be explosive, which I like. The identification number doesn't stand out a lot but I like how it is engulfed by the explosion of the red. To improve this is I would organise the photos in a more collective fashion as they are quite spaced out.

Furthermore, I stuck newspaper to the page and applied coffee stain in the shape of Nuneaton bus station. I drew the metal bars of the station in pencil, however, I used a solid tone and therefore it isn't recognisably a metal frame. I layered camouflage on top of this using chalk as it is a soft medium and makes the writing stand out more. I painted the word 'Britons' at the top of the piece like in the Lord Kitchener poster using acrylic. As a composition, I think that the frame of the bus station becomes to look like a tunnel that the men signing up to the army are lead down. The camouflage at the bottom suggests how the uniform removes their identity after pursuing the route through the tunnel of the army.