Andy Warhol

The concept of seriality was perhaps most famously manifested in Warhol's Campbell's Soup series of the 1960s, which presented rows of near identical cans produced through the mechanical technique of screenprinting. As he observed 'I started repeating the same image because I liked the way the repetition changed the same image.  [i]

Anchored in the artist's own visual experience of modern life, Warhol appropriated the image of Campbell's Soup, and transformed the cupboard staple into a work of fine art.  However, the image of Campbell's Soup is neither romanticised nor aspirational. Rather, the can is depicted in a factual manner that mirrors the true packaging of the object. In giving such focused attention to the soup can, the work subsequently reads like an image from the still-life genre. However, in subverting the subject, Warhol's novel approach questioned the high-art expectations of the genre and exemplified the principles of Pop in its embrace of the mechanically repetitive nature of the modern image.

By 1981, Warhol had established himself as one of the leading artists of the Pop Art movement, becoming a 'mercurial art celebrity', and prominent figure in the myth structure of modern American culture. [ii] In his Myths portfolio, Warhol expresses his fascination with popular culture through the innovative techniques and mass-production methods associated with American consumerism and entertainment, while simultaneously infusing the work with a sense of nostalgia for a more personal and nuanced understanding of cultural aesthetics. For Warhol, these icons embodied the cultural mythology of America.

In the Myths portfolio, the artist selected the instantly recognisable Mickey Mouse as one protagonist. Here, Mickey has become more than a celluloid mouse: the icon has entered Warhol's celebrity pantheon. Warhol idolised Walt Disney as the consummate entrepreneur who created a successful commercial art empire. When asked who among American artists he most admired, Warhol responded: 'I always say Walt Disney; that gets me off the hook'. [iii]

Warhol’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, created in the final years of his life, presents an iconic manifestation of his career-long fascination with the themes of fame, power, glamour and mass reproduced images. For his portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, Warhol appropriated an official photograph of Her Majesty taken by Peter Grugeon (1918–1980), at Windsor Castle in April 1975, and later released in 1977 to celebrate the Silver Jubilee. In it, the Queen faces the viewer wearing a collection of Royal Jewels. In selecting this image, Warhol consciously engaged with the role image distribution played in upholding the international fame of the Queen, transforming her into the consummate symbol, or brand, of Britain.

Produced towards the end of Warhol's life, the Ads portfolio marked a return to the primary themes in his oeuvre, including icons of popular culture and stars of the silver screen. Here, the viewer is invited to 'extract' the advertisement and treat it as a work of art in multiple form. Screenprinting is well suited to the reproduction of eye-catching 20th century advertisements: the repetition of celebrity faces in Warhol's printmaking practice mirrors the images found in newspapers, magazines and other printed ephemera.

For his Rebel Without a Cause (James Dean), Warhol appropriated the image from the Japanese launch of the Hollywood film in April 1956. The inclusion of actor in the Ads portfolio exemplifies the 20th century fascination with the Hollywood celebrity as a brand.

In a similar manner to the film posters of the 20th century, Warhol harnessed the power of mass media and the ability to reproduce an image across the globe, a precursor to the ubiquity of images in the 21st century across social media and the internet. By using a Japanese film poster as the source image for this artwork, Warhol demonstrates how a Hollywood icon evolved to become an international brand.

The selection of images Warhol appropriated for his Ads portfolio embodies some of the most powerful corporations in America, such as Mobilgas, Paramount Pictures, Disney, and Apple Macintosh. While others, such as Volkswagen, Blackglama and Chanel, represent some of the best designs and marketing strategies in advertising history.

Seeking 'a woman's perfume with a woman's scent', Coco Chanel conceived No. 5 in 1921. Representing the formula for the 'feminine eternal' while resisting the whims of fashion and passages of time, Chanel No. 5 became an icon of the 20th century, and a personal favourite of Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe. Taking source imagery from a 1960s magazine advert for the perfume, Warhol was interested in more than just the bottle, he was drawn to the idea of perfection that could be sold around the world. Chanel presented everything the artist admired; glamour, desire, and the seductive power of advertising.

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[i] Kirk Varnedoe, ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans, 1962’ in Andy Warhol: Retrospective, edited by Heiner Bastian (London: Tate Publishing, 2001), p.41.
[ii] Joseph D. Ketner II, Image Machine: Andy Warhol and Photography, Verlag für Moderne Kunst, exh. cat. (Vienna, 2013), p. 159.
[iii] Andy Warhol quoted in: Barry Blinderman, ‘Modern Myths: Andy Warhol’ in Arts (11 August, 1981); republished in: Kenneth Goldsmith, p. 299.