Andy Warhol
Imaan Ezzat
Art 1601: Time and Interactivity
Meng Tang
1/27/08
Response to Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol is a true artist because his art is meaningful and boasts his mastering of various artistic techniques. His art cannot be truly appreciated unless the spectator has an understanding of these techniques. I was unaware of the great skill that is present in his art, until it was shown in the documentary. His art is uniquely abstract; for example, in his hammer and sickle pieces he used the shadows of inanimate objects brilliantly. Warhol also used subtlety to emphasize various aspects and because of this technique he was able to produce similar portraits with slight changes. Warhol skillfully used a repetitive pattern in his work. The repetitive nature of Warhol’s work distinguishes him among many other artists and defined much of his work. Warhol also showed his knowledge of the history of art as well as techniques in his work. For example, his praying hands piece depicted a golden hand with crèche, which showed evidence that Warhol was familiar with art from the past. Another thing that is significant about Warhol’s work and that I personally find important was his reflection of himself in his art. Religion was a big part of Warhol’s childhood and life and was the theme of much of his work. Warhol also conveyed his interpretation of current events, at the time, around him in his art. His skulls theme emerged during the escalating threat of nuclear war, rising fear of aids, and spread of punk culture. The skulls theme was also a result of his pervasive fear of death and disaster. This documentary showed that from a big picture perspective being an artist can give the false illusion of looking easy, but in reality is not because an artist must be able to elaborate their feelings in their work. Despite the simplicity in Andy Warhol’s work, his art always seems to convey an underlying message and master various artistic techniques.