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Young Years
Andy Warhol was
born in 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA) as the
son of Slovakian immigrants. He was named Andrew
Warhola and even made a pop art statement by changing is
name into a more popular sounding Andy Warhol. His
father was a construction worker and died in an accident
when Andy was only 13 years
old.
Studies and Early Work (the
50's)
Warhol studied Commercial Art at
the Commercial Institute of Technology, where he
graduated in 1949 with a major in Pictorial
Design. He then went to New York to work
as an illustrator for magazines such as "Vogue", "The
New Yorker" and "Harper's Bazaar". His work in
general but his ink drawings of shoes in particular
were remarked and adored by the general public
and he soon became one of the most popular and succesful
commercial illustrators. Meanwhile Andy Warhol also
wanted to exhibit his work in fine art galleries. In
1952 Warhol had his first exhibition at the Hugo Gallery
in New York.
Pop
Art Icon - The Factory (the 60's)
In the
sixties Andy Warhol started painting everyday, mundane
objects like Campbell Soup Cans or Coca Cola Bottles.
This soon got him very well known in the art scene of
New York. In 1962 he moved into "The Factory" to make
silk screen prints and mass produce art. He wanted to
get rid of the difference between high and low art, and
wanted to show the world that art can be found in
everyday objects, such as magazine illustrations, comic
books, advertising campaigns, etc.
The
Factory was, typical for Warhol's style, a very chaotic
place. He did not only produce his art there, but it was
also a meeting place for all the creative people of New
York. Musicians, writers, actors and fellow artists were
always welcome to drop by. Besides all this, The Factory
also served as a filmmaking studio. Warhol created more
than 300 experimental movies, often confusing and
somewhat pornographic. His first movie was called
"Sleep" and showed nothing but a man sleeping for 6
hours.
Almost
murdered
In July of 1968 Warhol was shot
in the stomache by Valerie Solanis who had worked
occasionally for Warhol. When she was arrested the next
day, she said: "He had too much control over my life."
Warhol was seriously injured, survived, but had to wear
a bandage around his waist for the rest of his
life.
70's and
80's
After the assassination attempt
Warhol made a radical turn in his process of art
production. In stead of mass producing his art, he now
spent most of his time making individual portraits
of USA's rich and famous, such as Mick Jagger, Marilyn
Monroe and Elvis Presley. He also started a magazine
called "Interview", which is still published
today, and even opened his own night club. In 1975
he published his book "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol".
Warhol spent his latter years promoting other pop
artists such as Keith Haring and Robert
Mapplethorpe.
Andy Warhol died February 22, 1987
after a gall bladder operation. Their was no big risk in
this operation, but complications arose and Warhol
passed away. More than 2000 people, including many
celebrities, attended his funeral at St. Patrick's
Cathedral.
The
Personality of a Pop Artist
As many
artists, Warhol was a controversial man with a bizarre
personality. Warhol was a homosexual. He was obsessed by
the ambition of getting rich and famous and knew exactly
how he would reach this.
Warhol
Today
In 1987, the Warhol
Foundation for the Visual Arts was
established.
In May 1994, the Andy Warhol
Museum opened in his home town Pittsburgh in
Pennsylvania (USA).
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