(Andy Warhol, "Marilyn Diptych," 1962, Acrylic on Canvas, 208 x 145 cm (82 x 57 in), Pop Art, Tate Modern, London, UK)
One of the known artists of the early postmodern art is Andy Warhol (1928-1987), "an initiator and leading exponent of the Pop art movement of the 1960s who's mass-produced art apotheosized the supposed banality of the commercial culture of the United States." (Wainwright). This work of "Marilyn Diptych" mostly look like it "explicitly references a form of Christian painting" which Warhol has got his inspiration from. Of course, the image was turned into something appropriate for that modern art and contemporary life.
(Andy Warhol, "Cambell's Soup Cans," 1962, Synthetic Polymer Paint, 51 x 41 cm, Museum of Modern Art in New York City, United States)
This painting was weird for me at first because why would Warhol paint this kind of things? Apparently one reason was because "he wanted a fresh subject after giving up on comic strips, a decision influenced in part by his admiration for Roy Lichtenstein's sophisticated artwork." also she has one day just told Warhol to "create anything you encounter daily and something everyone would recognize." (artincontext and artincontext). Which makes sense in a way since it seems that this was something he would eat daily for 20 years.
Both these art pieces made from Andy Warhol is very modern like because of how he made them both, but at the same time they have differences between them. Like the "Marilyn Diptych" is more bright deep colors for a pop art and the use of black gives the pictures a 3D look. Having one side be the black and white color and the other side with colors, we get to really see the differences in the change between the two. While the "Cambell's Soup Cans" looks exactly like the can itself because of the very added details you would originally find in a can. One of the things that amazes is the copies of the different fonts of writing because even if I tried to do that, it wouldn't be perfect, but Warhol seem to do them perfectly.
(Roy Lichtenstein, "Brushstroke", 1996, Sculpture, 980 x 670 x 180 cm (387 x 262 x 72 in), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia)
A different artists known for also his Pop Art movement was Roy Lichtenstein (1951-1997). "Although the sculptures reference the painting, they bring the medium off the canvas and into a life of its own, with intersecting brushstrokes seemingly suspended in the air." (Lloyd). Lichtenstein has found the "Brushstrokes" series important because it "was the way of portraying this romantic and bravura symbol in its opposite classicism." (Lloyd). When looking at this sculpture, all I see and remember was the black and white comic books I would always read when I was little.
This type of sculpture is the same yet different to the first picture as they both have characteristics of their own. "Lichtenstein said of the work, "It's a symbol of something it isn't and that is part of the irony I'm interested in."" (“Tokyo Brushstrokes”). which I am both confuse at but at the same time, I do. Apparently what Lichtenstein means is that "If they don't' represent what they are of then what are the broader ironies at play?"(West) and "ones that manage to combine the heroic with the absurd." (West)
These two art sculptures are something's I find very modern like because it was something I have often see in a lot of things around me. What amazes me is how very detailed the strokes are even though they are just that. What we see in comic books or art always amazes me in how well they would all turn out, especially when the bright colors are added. I always think that the black ink and the bright colors together always look weird at first because it was just one bright base color and there were any details of other colors combine into it. But as I grow up, I could see how the black lines inside the strokes were adding the details a comic picture needs to make them POP.
(Joseph Kosuth, "One and Three Chairs", 1965, Painting and Sculpture, Chair: 82 x 37.8 x 53 cm and Photo: 91.5 x 61.1 cm, Museum of Modern Art, New York)
Joseph Kosuth (1945) is an "American artist and theoretician, a founder and leading figure of the conceptual art movement. He is known for his interest in the relationship between words and objects, between language and meaning in art." (“Joseph Kosuth | Biography, Conceptual Art, Artworks, One and Three Chairs, & Facts”). "This piece was the first famous work example of Kosuth's series of One and Three installations, in which he assembled an object, a photography of that object, and an enlarged dictionary definition of the object." (The Art Story). When I look at art sculptures, I get confused of what the meaning would mean behind each and every one of them. But when reading what the artists reason as to why they start these, in a way it does make sense.
When this was created, it put a new way to express art away from the traditional art. "According to Kosuth, traditional art forms such as painting would only summon old-fashioned considerations of aesthetic value or taste. Art needed to define itself anew by abandoning conventional means of expression." (“Joseph Kosuth | Five Words in Green Neon”) When I picked this, the first thing I asked myself was "I wonder if this was the first-time light letters were used?" But I disregarded that because of how other pictures from the past has shown light letter like these just not in art.
Looking at these two works made and thought of by Joseph Kosuth brings out a different way to see different objects differently. As art was created to represent something from our life or the life and stories around us, this is like expressing and giving reasons why we it gives us inspirations to the art objects we use. The art elemental of this two are the same but at the same time different because of how they were used. The "One and Three Chairs" gives us the three different ways to see the object it is representing, while the "Five Words in Green Neon" gives us just one object of what it represents. The similarities between the two is that they both have the object and definition that it defined them, which is what Kosuth's purpose of his art. Another thing I noticed is that they both look like from different timeline even though they are both from the Post-modern era. "One and Three Chairs" looks like it comes from the past because of the colors of brown, black and white, and the writing is on a old parchment paper. "Five Words in Green Neon" looks like it comes from the future because of the electricity involvement.
Resources:
artincontext, and artincontext. “‘Campbell’s Soup’ by Andy Warhol - Discover This Famous Pop Art Piece.” Artincontext.org, 30 June 2022, artincontext.org/campbells-soup-by-andy-warhol/.
“Joseph Kosuth | Biography, Conceptual Art, Artworks, One and Three Chairs, & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Kosuth.
“Joseph Kosuth | Five Words in Green Neon.” Whitney.org, whitney.org/collection/works/8377.
Lichtenstein, Roy. “Roy Lichtenstein - 119 Paintings, Illustrations and Sculptures - WikiArt.org.” Www.wikiart.org, 2017, www.wikiart.org/en/roy-lichtenstein.
Lloyd, Tara. “The Story behind Roy Lichtenstein’s Brushstrokes Series.” Singulart Magazine, 4 Nov. 2019, www.singulart.com/en/blog/2019/11/04/the-story-behind-roy-lichtensteins-brushstrokes-series/.
“Marilyn Diptych (1962) by Andy Warhol – Artchive.” Artchive, www.artchive.com/artwork/marilyn-diptych-andy-warhol-1962/.
The Art Story. “Joseph Kosuth.” The Art Story, 2014, www.theartstory.org/artist/kosuth-joseph/.
Tina Rivers Ryan. “Andy Warhol, Marilyn Diptych.” Smarthistory.org, 2015, smarthistory.org/warhol-marilyn-diptych/.
“Tokyo Brushstrokes.” Parrish Art Museum, parrishart.org/exhibitions/tokyo-brushstroke-i-ii/. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Wainwright, Lisa S. “Jean-Michel Basquiat | American Artist.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 18 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Michel-Basquiat.
West, Nick. “Public Art #1: Roy Lichtenstein’s Tokyo Brushstrokes.” Tokyo Art Beat, 25 June 2013, www.tokyoartbeat.com/en/articles/-/public-art-1-roy-lichtensteins-tokyo-brushstrokes. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Hi Sallie, I found your picture of Andy Warhol's "Marilyn Diptych" particularly interesting. Your observation about Warhol's appropriation of Christian painting motifs and reinterpretation for modern art was very eye opening. Additionally, your comparison between "Marilyn Diptych" and Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans" highlighted the artist's versatility in subject matter and technique. Overall, your exploration of Warhol's work provided a understanding of his contributions to the Pop art movement. Great job!
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