Andy, one of the founders of pop art, managed to successfully turn his name into a brand. A multifaceted and versatile personality, he reliably entered himself into the history of the development of culture of the second half of the 20th century. What brought him such a resounding success?
Childhood
On August 6, 1928, a fourth child was born into a family of immigrants from Czechoslovakia Varhol; they named him Andrey. Warhol Andy is the creative pseudonym of Andrei Warhol. At the time of his birth, the family lived for several years in the city of Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania, so he rightfully took on himself an American name. The family had nothing to do with the creative environment. My father worked all his life in a coal mine, and his mother ran a household.
In grade 3, little Andrei fell ill with Sydenham's chorea. This disease causes involuntary sudden movements. As a result, the boy had to spend a whole year at home. It was during this period that he became interested in drawing, in order to at least somehow distract himself from the painful state. The plot didn’t have to hiccup for a long time, he just drew what was before his eyes: light bulbs, key rings, empty cigarette packs. Then he first began to compose collages from newspaper clippings.
The beginning of the way
The young and ambitious Andy Warhol decided to start his career by entering the Carnegie Mellon Institute of Technology. He easily passed all the exams and set about studying commercial illustration and graphic drawing. He turned out to be the best student on the course, but at the same time could not find contact with teachers and classmates.
A young and talented American artist easily found work in New York. His first position is a window dresser. During these years, he painted posters, greeting cards, and decorated stands. At first, there was not much success.
One acquaintance advised him: if you want to be rich - draw money. Andy took this advice literally, and began to draw one-dollar bills. At the same time, work was completed with discount coupons and the now legendary images of Campbell Soup. This was the first success. He was quickly noticed and offered to work with leading glossy magazines. In the magazines Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, Warhol Andy worked as an illustrator.
Stairs up
One of the most successful people of his time, Andy Warhol, whose biography and work inspires today, began his career with advertising. The first successful project was a shoe advertisement “I. Miller. " It was a real success, contracts rained down like rain, and the amount of fees was constantly growing.
Already in 1952, his first exhibition was held. She brought her author even greater success. Andy was admitted to the Club of Art Editors. In the same period, he creates his own corporate identity based on screen printing. By this time, his earnings already exceeded $ 100,000 a year, and he was recognized as one of the most successful people of our time. One of the most expensive orders is the design of Coca-Cola cans.
Templates, templates, templates ...
1962 was a landmark year. At this time, the artist’s passion for stencils intensifies. As a basis, he took newspaper clippings or photographs, the original version was multiplied by many copies. Each of the blanks was colored differently. The American artist was a bit of realism. The selection of colors was based on their compatibility.
At one time, the artist was very interested in tragic photographs. He took the plots of murders, disasters, fires. Numerous repetitions reinforced the impression, and unnatural colors only helped to focus on the plot.
Andy Warhol continues to work in this technique further. Photo Marilyn Monroe for a long time inspired the artist. Marilyn in neon colors has become a kind of icon of pop art.
Factory
Warhol Andy introduced the philosophy of technology into art. He repeatedly said that he would like to become a machine. To think the same and look the same, like machines - that is what humanity should come to. Based on this idea, a creative workshop was created, which he called "Factory". To create the necessary surroundings, the entire room was covered with aluminum.
Warhol's “Factory” began to gather like-minded people around itself. The working team was replenished with several assistants. Although the general direction was uniform, the assistants had some freedom. They independently selected images for new stencils and learned color combinations from the meter.
Producer
All the same "Factory" has become a place where cinema was born. Andy has become almost the only known underground movie director. His first works introduced the viewer into a hypnotic state. These are the pictures “Dream” and “Empire”. In the first, throughout the tape, just a sleeping person, the second offers contemplation of the night Empire State Building. The picture lasts several hours, without any musical accompaniment.
In the future, a movie appears with a plot that is mostly erotic in nature. One of the first feature films is Trash. The process of work and the plot of the picture is a parody and a mockery of commercial cinema.
Since 1966, Warhol begins to work with the group Velvet Underground. He makes films and produces several albums. Andy personally designs their first album. On the cover there is a graphic image of a banana on a clean background. Now it is one of the most recognizable works of the artist.
Journal
This person is not only an artist, director and producer of a musical group, he is also a publisher of magazines. Andy Warhol created the magazine Interview. The main goal of the publication is to bring modern culture to the masses.
On the pages of the magazine were published interviews of the bright creative personalities of his time: musicians, artists, actors, directors. He was one of the first to open the veil of secrecy over the lives of famous personalities. Here fame, sex shocking and delicacy coexist beautifully. But the circle of people is not limited to pop art and underground, the publication does not adhere to a certain style and works in all directions.
The magazine is still alive and published in several countries. He came to Russia in 2011. The new generation is diligently following the traditions laid down by the founder.
Attempt
On July 3, 1968, Warhol, as always, worked in his workshop. One of his actresses, Valerie Solanas , came in and fired three shots at the artist’s stomach. After calmly went out into the street, and the first patrol confessed to the deed. However, she did not feel remorse, and committed the attempt quite consciously. Andy suffered a clinical death, but as a result of a long and complicated operation, doctors managed to save his life. He flatly refused to give a compelling testimony, generously forgiving his model. Solanas escaped with three years in prison and forced treatment.
Some believe that Valerie was an ardent feminist. But she herself claims that she tried in this way to draw his attention to herself. Talking to him is like talking to furniture, she claimed. The version with the unfortunate lover seems more believable, given all the circumstances.
Having been on the threshold of worlds, the artist becomes more devout, and begins to regularly attend church. In the works of this time, the theme of violent death is often seen.
Personal life
Andy Warhol, whose biography was carefully hidden, still could not completely free himself from public discussion of his personal life.
He was constantly credited with a relationship with Edie Sedgwick. With this lovely girl with a charming smile, he met in 1995. A thin, fragile 17-year-old girl delighted the already eminent artist. He repeatedly called her his muse.
It is still not clear whether their romantic feelings were connected or not, but one thing is a fact. Everywhere they appeared together, as if the twins dressed equally. To please Andy, the girl even cut her luxurious hair and dyed it platinum blonde. But the idyll was not eternal, for unknown reasons, they quarreled right in the restaurant, they no longer saw them together.
Many researchers of Andy Warhol's personal life claim that he was gay, and there simply could not be a relationship with Edie. You can learn a lot about life and work from the diaries that Andy Warhol kept: biography, photos, parties and the creative process. Records were kept for 10 years, and after the death of the artist were published.
The artist, director, producer, publisher - Andy Warhol was noted in almost all directions and left a bright neon smear in the history of modern art. His work continues to inspire the young generation of creative personalities, and he has grown many followers on his own at the Factory of Art. An unusual person with an unusual fate, a vivid example of a person who independently achieved everything he dreamed about.