The Printmaking Techniques of Andy Warhol, Essay Example

Background

Andy Warhol was born Andrew Warhola on August 6, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He died on February 22, 1987 (Bockris). He did most of his work in his native town, but galleries of his art were shown around the United States. His work became iconic in the 1950s, which began with whimsical ink drawings of shoe advertisements. Some of his best known pieces continued with this theme. This art attracted major record labels to him, which allowed him to start one of his first jobs as an album artist. During the same time period, he mastered the use of the silk screen printmaking process as a technique for making paintings, which allowed him to develop his characteristics technique.

Ultimately, Warhol and those who study his art attribute his bout of scarlet fever as the cause of his unique personality, which is accurately reflected in the art that he produces. When he was in third grade, he contracted Sydenham’s chorea, which is a complication of scarlet fever that contributed to involuntary movements of his extremities (Guiles). Since Warhol had to visit many doctors and hospitals as a child, he developed hypochondria, which is a fear of these things. Furthermore, since he was often bedridden as a child, he had little friends and was out casted from society. Because he was lonely, he spent a lot of time listening to the radio and drawing, which contributed to his interest to study art professionally as an adult.

Many of Warhol’s original works were done in a loose, blotted ink style. His paintings originally utilized silk screening that involved the use of hand-drawn images, although he eventually adopted the use of silk screening that involved the use of photography. In addition to use of these techniques, Warhol’s art became characteristics because he was more casual about the designs he created, which left room for keeping unintentional mistakes. He believed that imperfection perfected his pieces, and smudges and smears can be found on a variety of his works. During the 1960s, Warhol began to create many pieces that were a play on his renditions of advertisements from early in his career. This included paintings of iconic American images such as Campbell’s soup, Coca Cola bottles, and many celebrities of the time.

Warhol ultimately made his mark on society by painting artistic renditions of objects and people that everyone knew, therefore ensuring that everyone would be able to relate to. Some of his work had political commentary, and others were meant to emphasize equality. While Warhol started out as a business artist that intended to make prints for companies to advertise their products, he was able to place his own twist on the art that he produced. Furthermore, he was well known for encouraging many artists to come together and produce work at his studio, “The Factory”. Many individuals who are not familiar with Warhol himself have at least seen some of his work, especially the iconic Campbell soup can. He continues to be referenced in popular culture through television shows such as Family Guy and as a consequence, he will continue to be relevant for many years to come.

Artistic Analysis/Critique

The image selected for this analysis is entitled Liz #1 (Early Colored Liz) and was completed using silk screen ink and acrylic on linen (Koestenbaum). It was created in 1963 and measures 40 inches by 40 inches. Warhol created this particular image because he was fascinated with producing paintings and images of things that were relevant to popular culture. This painting depicts Elizabeth Taylor, who was a British-American actress and a popular figure during the Hollywood Golden Age. Warhol chose to create an image of her because he was highly concerned with the depiction of sexuality. Even though he himself was gay, he wanted to portray her because she was an important female sex icon during his time period.

Warhol was well known for depicting icons in manners that they are typically not presented. In many cases Elizabeth Taylor was presented as glamourous and beautiful by Hollywood producers. However, Warhol was obsessed with the beauty that exists in flaws, and he thus presents her using blotched ink, which is one of his iconic techniques. Taylor’s face is still beautiful in this image despite its distortion.

One could argue that Warhol presents his paintings in this manner because it reflects how he views the world around him. Since his childhood was particularly depressing, he viewed the world differently during his adult life. Therefore, it is possible that he creates these paintings to give others the ability to view the world the same way that he does by providing them with a sense of distortion. This distortion is seen not only in the use of ink blotting, but also by his choice of color. The background of the image presented above is yellow, the skin is pink, the makeup and eyes are blue, and the lips are red. Some of these, such as the background and skin, would not be truly symbolic of what Taylor looks like in real life. However, the hair, lips, and eyes are appropriate, but emphasized.

Ultimately, it appears that the intended artist was Warhol himself in one sense and the world in another sense. It is clear that Warhol created these paintings for himself because they made him happy to create a realistic view of how he felt the world around him really was. On the other hand, he wanted to produce them so he would be able to effectively communicate this view to others. As a consequence, Warhol produced these images with stark contrasts in order to call attention to his work so that other people would think that his personal thoughts and beliefs were important. The extent to which his work became known, both for positive and negative reasons, marked that his attempt to be noticed was a success.

Many of Warhol’s other pieces were created in the same fashion that his silk screen of Elizabeth Taylor was produced; ink blots were highly characteristic of hi style and were therefore a repeating theme. In addition, distinct color contrasts were also frequently used to catch the attention of the viewer and cause them to think more analytically about the purpose of the piece and what it might mean to them. Overall, this work helps us gain a greater insight into Warhol’s life, since his work is a significant reflection of who he was as a person, and which continues to entertain us today.

Works Cited

Bockris, Victor. Warhol: The Biography. New York: Da Capo Press, 1997.

Guiles, Fred Lawrence. Loner at the Ball: The Life of Andy Warhol. New York: Bantam, 1989.

Koestenbaum, Wayne (2003). Andy Warhol. New York: Penguin, 2003.