Untold Story of Andy
Andy Warhol was an American artist and filmmaker. He was the first one to introduce a new form of art called pop art and the pop art movement of the 1960s. His famous works use renderings of Coca-Cola bottles and tin of Campbell Soup as a commentary on increasing materialism and capitalism.
Andy Warhol’s full name was Andrew Warhola. He was born on August 6, 1928, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Julia and Ondrej Warhol. He had two elder brothers. His father was a construction worker and his mother was an embroiderer an artist.
School Life and Suffered From Some Disorders
Andy was a weak child and suffered from many health disorders. At a very early age, he suffered from a neurological disorder, Sydenham chorea that led to frequent trips to the hospitals. Andy was a loner and had no friends due to his poor health and absence from school. He graduated from Schenley High School in 1945, at the young age of 16.
Knowledge and Interests of Andy
His mother then taught him now to draw. He soon developed an interest in painting, photography and movies. He lost his father when he was just a teenager. His father had always supported him and had even saved money for his college education.
He attended he Carnegie institute of Technology and pursued a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. He was the first one in his family who studied beyond High school. He then graduated from art school with a degree in pictorial design, which later helped him develop his new art from.
College Days
In his college days, he honed his skills as an illustrator. He was introduced to the world of high fashion, which later led to his interest in becoming and illustrator. During his summer break, he worked at a department store and created window displays.
After he graduated from college, Andy and his artist friend, Philip Pearlstein, moved to New York City. There, both o they continued to explore the world of art.
Career Began and First Job
His first job as an artist in advertising and magazines. He worked as an illustrator. He gained lots of attention for his ink drawings for shoe advertisements. In just a few years, he became a successful commercial artist.
During one of his jobs, Andy’s name in the credits was misspelt as “Warhol” instead of “Warhola”. He decided to keep the name of his future artworks. He was also offered a deal with RCA Records. Andy designed various album covers for the label. He was one of the artists who adopted the ‘Silk Screen’ printmaking process in the 1950s.
During the 1950s, he received many illustration projects from major fashion magazines like Glamour, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. He introduced the bottle line technique. It caught the eyes of many art directors. He also worked for I. Miller, a popular shoe company. His jobs in the advertisement world helped him to venture into the art world.
As a Fine Artist
In the 1960s, he tried his luck and got into fine arts. Andy bought a four-story building from the money he’d earned from its previous jobs. He used to try his art on the walls of his home.
Andy’s art was unique at the time. He called them Pop paintings and these paintings had a somewhat unfinished look to them. Over time, he evolved his style into something more flat and graphic. He combined art with everyday objects. And this made him famous.
Factory in New York By Andy
It was 1961 when Andy introduced the concept of using mass-produced commercial goods in his art. He called it Pop Art. He used image and reproduced them over and over for same products.
He made Pop art for different kinds of objects like electric chairs, Campbell’s soup cans and Coca-Cola bottles.His art from Campbell’s soup gained him lots of attention all over the world. He did the same for famous people such as Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and more.
He repeated the same picture over and over again, but used different colors and effects in every picture. Soon, Andy founded his own studio named the factory in New York he was also a great filmmaker. He made hundreds of films such as Sleep, Empire, and Eat. His major work as a filmmaker was Chelsea Girls. It was his first commercial success.
Awards and Achievements
He was successful in other areas of art as well. His world famous was a portrait of Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong. He even helped found the New York Academy of Art for aspiring artist. In 1979, he was hired by the automobile company, BMW.
The wanted Andy to paint their model, super-car BMW M1. He also exhibited his collection named “The Jewish Geniuses’, which became a great success. He received awards and honors throughout his life.
The US Postal Service issued a stamp as a tribute to Andy Warhol’s achievements. Warhol died on February 22, 1987, in a New York hospital, at the age of 59.