Tate!

So I woke up today and thought I'd make good use of my day off and visit the Tate Art Gallery in Liverpool. Between the 24th June and 16th October, the fourth floor of the gallery is occupied by the paintings of Rene Magritte; The Pleasure Principle. However, after viewing an introduction to his work, I did not feel that I would be able to relate to his work. Therefore my focus then turned to the rest of the exhibitions at the gallery, which brought me to one of the first artists I was introduced to; Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987).

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol by Vladimir Gorsky

Warhol was an US painter, film-maker and author, and a leading figure in the Pop Art movement.

Andrew Warhola was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His parents had emigrated to the USA from Ruthenia, a region now in the Slovak Republic. Warhol studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. In 1949, he moved to New York and changed his name to Warhol. He worked as a commercial artist for magazines and also designed advertising and window displays. In the early 1960s, he began to experiment with reproductions based on advertisements, newspaper headlines and other mass-produced images from American popular culture such as Campbell's soup tins and Coca Cola bottles. In 1962, he began his series portraits of Marilyn Monroe. Other subjects given similar treatment included Jackie Kennedy and Elvis Presley. The same year he took part in the New Realists exhibition in New York, which was the first important survey of Pop Art. Warhol was now established as an internationally famous artist and throughout the 1970s and 1980s exhibited his work around the world. Even though he died unexpectedly in 1987, his work is still appreciated by many.

 

'Campbell's Black Bean Soup'  1968

Warhol painted familiar consumer items such as coca-cola bottles or soup cans throughout the 1960s, the earliest examples first shown in New York in 1962. Asked why he painted soup cans, Warhol replied, 'Because I used to drink it. I used to have the same lunch every day.' Using screenprinting, Warhol could simulate the mechanical effect of his source to the extent that the resulting image appears almost untransformed. Yet, the rich colour, enlargement of scale and unifying black outline are reminders that these are commercial techniques being used in the context of high art, no longer selling products, but presenting them as objects for contemplation. As such, they pose radical questions about the value of art and the way it is consumed.

'Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom' 1985

Warhol's 1985 series of screenprints Reigning Queens included colour portraits of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Margrethe II of Denmark, Beatrix of the Netherlands and Ntombi Twala of Swaziland. The images of Elizabeth II were based on a photograph taken for her Silver Jubilee in 1977. Warhol presents the Queen as an iconic and overtly glamorous figure. His own lines, added to the photographic image, suggest the stylised make-up of a Hollywood star, associating the portrait with the cult of celebrity that was prevalent in the 1980s.

 'Warhol'

Due to being 'reintroduced' to Andy Warhol, I decided to buy this in the Tate Gift Shop. The book consists of detailed information about his life and the influence behind his prints, which are displayed chronologically. The captions underneath each print also include the title, the date, the media used, the size of the print and where it is located. 

Close cover before striking (Pepsi Cola), 1962, Acrylic on canvas, sandpaper, 183 x 137cm, Cologne, Museum Ludwig.

I'm attracted to the vibrant colours within this print, the simplicity of the sketch and the block colours creates a retro effect, the hand-made typography is a bonus! 

 'Marilyn' 1964

I bought this Marilyn print when I visited an Andy Warhol exhibition in London a few years ago simply because I admire the print itself. I'm inspired by the screen printing methods he uses to create his sketches, I'm attracted to the use of colour, plus I'm a fan of the topic behind this particular print. To add to the collection, I bought this Campbell's Black Bean Soup print today at the Tate Gallery. 

'Campbell's Black Bean Soup' 1968

 

"Beauty? What is it? - Beauty in itself is nothing" - Andy Warhol.