Andy Warhol: quotes, sayings, paintings, short biography of the artist, personal life, interesting facts from life

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Andy Warhol is a cult artist of the 20th century who changed the world of contemporary fine art. Many people do not understand his work, but famous and little-known canvases are sold for millions of dollars, and critics give the highest rating to his artistic legacy. His name has become a symbol of the pop art trend, and Andy Warhol's quotes amaze with depth and wisdom. What allowed this amazing person to gain such high recognition for himself? The artist's biography provides answers to all questions.

Childhood

Andy Warhol was born on August 6, 1928 in a family of immigrants from Eastern Europe. He was born in Pittsburgh, which is located in the US state of Pennsylvania. The father of the future celebrity was a miner, and his mother was a housekeeper. At first, the family lived rather poorly, but in 1934 they finally managed to change the slums to a comfortable area. Andy studied at the 3rdclass, when misfortune struck him: the boy first fell ill with scarlet fever, after which a serious complication arose - Sydenham's chorea. This disease is characterized by erratic uncontrolled movements, gestures, facial expressions. As a result, the child was bedridden for a long time, he developed a fear of he alth workers, and an anxious suspiciousness arose, which was fixed in his character for life.

However, the disease also led to positive consequences. The child, deprived of communication, began to draw, collect photographs from newspapers and make collages from them. Warhol himself considered this period one of the most important in life, determining his personality and destiny. Warhol's famous lines that he later spoke demonstrate his reclusive nature and deep insight into various aspects of life.

Children's passion allowed the great master to develop a fine artistic taste and even develop certain skills that later formed the basis of his brilliant creativity. During his illness, Andy learned to draw everyday, seemingly unremarkable objects: lamps, cigarette packs, keys, key chains, and the like. Forced loneliness also affected his character: the artist became withdrawn and silent. One of Andy Warhol's famous quotes confirms this:

"People get so boring when they get together. You have to be alone to develop the personality that makes a person interesting."

Youth and early career

After graduation, the young manHe enrolled at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, where he studied graphic design and commercial illustration. Warhol was a talented and successful student, but classmates and teachers noted his complex, quarrelsome character. In 1949, the training came to an end, and the young man, who by that time was already 21 years old, decided to move to New York.

Here, the future artist worked as a window dresser, painted advertising posters and greeting cards to order. Later, when the level of his skill rose high enough, Andy was hired as an illustrator for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and other similar publications. Several of Warhol's famous quotes belong to this period of his life:

"Beauties in photographs are different from beauties in the flesh. It must be hard to be a fashion model because you want to look like your own photo, but it's impossible."

"It's better to always wear the same thing and know that people love you for who you really are, and not for who your clothes make you."

First success

Andy Warhol held his first major exhibition of his own work in 1962. The event made him famous and popular, they began to talk about him with respect, and his work was considered a fresh trend in art. By this time, the income of the master reached 100 thousand dollars a year, which for that period was considered a very significant amount, this made it possible to purchase a separate house in Manhattan. We alth made it possible to spend less time working in advertisingand give more strength to your favorite thing - drawing. Andy Warhol's statements about work give an idea of his true attitude towards commercial projects:

"I guess I have a special idea about the concept of work, because I think life itself is very hard work on something that you don't always feel like doing."

"I don't think everyone should have money. It shouldn't be for everyone - otherwise you won't know who matters. How boring. Who will you gossip about then?"

Famous paintings

Andy Warhol was among the first to learn how to use screen printing to create works of art. This approach made it possible to move on to the mass production of paintings, and this fact caused a flurry of criticism: many believed that the mass reproduction of art objects leads to the loss of a special aura and reduces the value. However, Warhol chose to go his own way, ignoring the ill-wishers. Andy Warhol's famous 15 minutes of fame quote is:

"In the future, everyone will get their 15 minutes of fame"? I'm tired of this phrase. I don't use it anymore. The new one is: “Everyone will be famous in 15 minutes.”

In 1960, the artist created one of his most famous advertising images: it was he who designed the can of Coca-Cola. This work made him famous and brought a reputation as an artist with an extraordinary view of art.

Then, Warhol created a whole series of images with dollarbanknotes.

During the same period, Andy painted a cycle of works with Campbell's canned soup, which later became one of the most famous. First, the master created the painting "Campbell's Soup Jar (Rice-Tomato)", and then "Thirty-two Campbell's Soup Jars", "One Hundred Campbell's Soup Jars", "Two Hundred Campbell's Soup Jars" using the silkscreen technique.

In 1962, canvases called “Green Coca-Cola Bottles” appeared.

Images in bright, unrealistic colors have become corporate identity. The famous phrases of Andy Warhol explain the essence of his work:

"I wanted to draw nothingness. I was looking for something that could express its very essence, and it turned out to be a can of soup."

"What makes America a great country is the tradition that the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can watch TV and see Coca-Cola and you know that the president drinks Coke and Liz Taylor drinks Coke and - just think - you can drink Coke too."

"You'd be surprised how many people want to hang a picture of an electric chair on their bedroom wall. Especially if the background color matches the wallpaper."

Critics were delighted with his work. Experts believed that the paintings clearly reflect the facelessness, vulgarity of consumer culture, symbolizing the nature of Western civilization. After showing these works, Andy was ranked among the masters of conceptual art in a new direction - pop art.

Private life

The artist never talked about it in an interview, but he did not hide his homosexuality either. He preferred the society of men, and at different times his partners were famous people: photographer Billy Name, poet John Giorno, designer Jed Johnson and others. None of the relationships lasted long. Andy Warhol's love quotes were sarcastic and sad:

"I'm really afraid to feel happy because it never lasts."

"The biggest price you pay for love is having another person by your side. You can't be alone anymore, and that's always better."

"Sex is much more interesting on a screen or between book pages than between sheets."

Interesting facts from the artist's life

In 1968, an actress and radical feminist named Valerie Solance made an attempt on Warhol's life. She shot him three times in the stomach, after which the artist survived clinical death and many hours of complex surgery. He refused to testify against Solans, so the woman received the lightest punishment: three years in prison and compulsory treatment in a psychiatric hospital. Andy Warhol's quote about this event is:

"Before I got shot, I was half here rather than all the way - I always suspected I was watching TV instead of living my life. Peopleit is often said that things in the movies look unreal, but in fact things that happen in life look unreal. In the cinema, emotions seem so strong and real, and when some things really happen to you, it's like you're watching TV - you don't feel anything. When I got shot and all the time after that, I knew I was watching TV. The channels change, but it's just TV."

In 1987, the artist's heart stopped. During a simple operation to remove his gallbladder, something went wrong and Warhol died without regaining consciousness.