WARHOL, Andy

WARHOL, Andy, b. United States, 1928-1987, and Contemporary artist Andy Warhol, born in Pittsburg Pennsylvania in 1928, is a seminal figure of the American Pop-Art movement and often considered one of the most important postwar artists of the 20th century. His practice spans from photography, sculpture, film, painting, and most notable, silkscreen images. Originally hoping to be a teacher, Warhol studied art education at the University of Pittsburgh then went on to study commercial art at Carnegie Mellon University. At the beginning of Warhol’s professional career as an artist, he worked as an illustrator for women’s magazines in New York. During this time Warhol began experimenting with a style that appeared to be mass production, which brought him later fame with his silkscreen works exploring the commercial obsessions of postwar America. Warhol’s practice typically takes people and objects from mainstream America and flattens both their dimension and color to create and mass-produced image. In 1963 Warhol opened his infamous studio, dubbed ‘The Factory’ where he would host large parties and work on a variety of multimedia projects including silkscreens, pictures, film, and sculpture. Here, collaboration became an important part of his practice with members of his Factory retinue, which included Edie Sedgwick. In 1987, at the age of 58, Warhol died of complications following a gallbladder surgery. Today his artworks remain some of the most recognizable contemporary imagery. Sources: "Andy Warhol: Biography". Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. 2002. Archived from the original on July 24, 2010., “WARHOL, Andy,” UCSB ADA Museum Omeka, accessed April 26, 2024, http://art-collections.museum.ucsb.edu/items/show/16820.