Warhol’s artworks and thoughts

Warhol’s artworks and thoughts

Andy Warhol was a trailblazer of making art more accessible for all people in society (popular culture). For example, Warhol took his favourite lunch, Campbell’s Soup and turned it into a piece of contemporary art. He produced his Campbell’s Soup series as screen prints, an apron, a dress and shoes, all of which are on display in the Andy Warhol: Pop Art 12 August until 24 November

Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Series is one part of a much bigger story. Warhol started blurring a line between art and popular culture in the 1950s when he was a newly graduated student of fine arts. He moved to New York where he became an advertising designer for Harper’s Bazaar magazine and created impressive works for some of the best and least known brands. He observed mass production and consumerism in America’s post-war boom and decided to borrow from it, pioneering a new technique called silk screen printing. In the early 1960s this was regarded as a pivotal moment in his career, and earned him his reputation as an icon of a populist artist (pop art).

Prior to the Campbell’s Soup Series, Warhol interpreted another everyday American consumer products – Coca-Cola. Green Coca-Cola Bottles (1962) featured 112 bottles lined up in 7 rows. The Coca-Cola logo was featured at the bottom of the print, conveying his idea of mass production and consumerism.

Warhol later turned this typical object into many amazing artworks like Coca-Cola (1962), a set of mimeograph, which was a low-cost means of making copies. Last but not least, Coca-Cola bottle also appeared on the cover of Andy Warhol’s Velvet Underground Featuring Nico (1971), a greatest hit compilation of the Velvet Underground.

Apart from his wit and ability to adapt everyday objects into a commentary on what he saw around him, his works now document a period of time and a movement in art. 

Warhol said: “What is really great about this country is that America has kicked off the custom for which the richest consumer buys essentially the same things as the poorest. […] All Coca-Colas are equal, and all Coca-Colas are good. Elizabeth Taylor knows, the President knows, the bum knows, and you know it. ” cited in his book The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again. Read it on our Andy Warhol: Pop Art exhibition catalogue.

Andy Warhol: Pop Art exhibition featuring 128 of original artworks and memorabilia opens 12 August at RCB Galleria of #RiverCityBangkok.