Andy Warhol

by Colin S.







Andy Warhol’s real name was Andrew Warhola. He was an American painter, motion-picture director and producer, publisher and a leader of the pop art movement, which based artwork on images taken from mass, or popular, culture. Warhol was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1928. His father died when Andy was 13. He was a commercial illustrator, and a very successful one, doing various jobs like shoe ads. He first exhibited in an art gallery in 1962. However, on June 3, 1968 Valerie Solanas shot Mr. Warhol and he barely survived. He never fully recovered and had to wear a corset for the rest of his life. For years his wounds would start to bleed if he worked too hard. Warhol showed single images or rows of objects so frequently that people never stopped to examine them closely. People could immediately recognize that an image was his. These objects included dollar bills, the face of Marilyn Monroe, and Campbell's soup cans. He frequently assigned his pieces to assistants. In the early 1960s Andy Warhol was probably the best known American pop artist and he mass-produced silk-screens, turning out hundreds of identical prints of Coca-Cola bottles, Campbell's soup cans, and other familiar subjects, including identical three dimensional Brillo boxes. Warhol also improved his status as a celebrity. He worked in film as a director and producer. Andy Warhol’s studio was named The Factory. There he used his “Warhol Superstars” to make his films and art. He died in 1987. Andy Warhol was a famous artist and a leader in the pop art movement.