Communication
Some paintings can make people mad, make them ask questions, and make them see things differently (Heppermann, 2001). In the case of Andy Warhol, he was known for being the “Prince of Pop Art” when he first started during the 1930s in Pittsburgh, where he spent most his childhood. He rose to fame in 1966 and became a visionary artist with his innate qualities of perseverance, hard work and dedication. As a young artist, Warhol was often seen drawing pictures of flowers in his sketch pad based on his autobiography. Long before Warhol’s “pop art” was born, he was able to explore the connection between artistic expression, advertisement, and the world of celebrity culture during the 1960s. Warhol’s art included varied types of media such as painting, silk screening, sculpture, printmaking, hand drawing, movie, photography, and music (Shanes, 2005). He was the first artist who developed computer-generated art that used computers in 1984, a couple of years before his passing. He was the founder of Interview Magazine and authored several books, such as “Popism: The Warhol Sixties” and “The Philosophy of Andy Warhol” (Shanes, 2005).
Warhol was a self-confessed a gay man long before the gay liberation movement even began. The name of his studio was “The Factory”, and it was known for the most sought-after hang-out of celebrities including playwrights, wealthy patrons, intellectuals, drag queens, and famous people from Hollywood (Michaelson, 2001). During the 1960s Warhol was the pioneer artist who made paintings using iconic American objects including the famous Coca-Cola bottles, Campbell’s Soup cans, U.S. dollar bills, electric chairs, and mushroom clouds. He also used renowned celebrities as his subject including Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, and Muhammad Ali. Other forms of his pop art included newspaper headlines that showed pictures of the attack of police dogs against the civil rights protesters. Warhol’s explanation why he decided to include Coca Cola in his masterpieces is that even the richest people in America buy the same basic necessities of the poor people such as Coca-Cola products. He explained that even famous people like the President and Liz Taylor drink the same Coca-Cola products. (Brant & Burns, 2006).
Although the work of Warhol soon became the talk of the town, they were also controversial in the sense that his work depicted “commercialism” (Brant & Burns, 2006). Some of his critics rejected his market culture. Warhol’s painting of a Campbell’s soup can went up as $1,500, and his autographed cans were priced at $6 each. His exhibits became an instant hit to the public, who had the first glimpse of pop art, without knowing the type of art Warhol wanted to present to his audience.
In comparison to the work of Mad Men, it is useful to consider not simply the period of art cameos, but that which is also conspicuously absent from view (Goodlad, Kaganovsky & Rushing, 2013). At the time when Mad Men became famous, was also the same time when Andy Warhol was trained as a commercial illustrator. At the time when Warhol exhibited thirty-two paintings of Campbell’s soup cans where people discovered of its commodity status. The most interesting thing about Mad Men’s engagement or non-engagement is the advanced art of its time (Goolad et al., 2013). The television series used the period of art to propose a narrative model of psychological depth in antithesis to the flat surfaces of advertising spectacle, and the most significant forms of art during the 1960s. It was precisely Warhol’s willingness to apply the logic of flatness, repetition, and bland surface, from soup cans, to race riots. Warhol was able to effectively remove the psychological depth that was presumed in a modernist work of art (Goolad et al., 2013).
Mad Men has focused on the change in America and how such change affects every person, and the community as a whole. The concept of Mad Men is to create a perfect setting that will enable the public to understand the cultural and personal shifts in America. This shall include the issues on upward mobility of women and the blacks, as well as the homosexuals who are afraid to reveal their true identities within the corporate setting. The intention of the show is to monitor the effect of change on people. Although some of the critics of the show believe that Mad Men is superficial in the sense that the characters portray detachment, anxiety and frustration all at the same time (Stoddart, 2011).
The show is centered on the characters who are able to stand outside of the change. Mad Men also gives a sense of history and nostalgia. The characters depicted freedom to smoke, drink and consume large quantities of alcohol, without feeling any sense of guilt. Mad Man depicts the desire to return at the same time when both the advertising and the consumer culture helped sustain, the vitality of Western democracy and the deeper moral meanings of capitalism (Stoddart, 2011).
In comparison to the identity of Andy Warhol, he was a self-confessed a gay man long before the gay liberation movement even began. In the case of Mad Men, it was a taboo for the gay men to reveal their true colors for fear of rejection by society.
References:
Brant, P. M. (Producer), & Burns, R. (Director). (2006). Andy Warhol [Documentary
Film]. USA: High Line Productions.
Goodlad, L.M. E., Kaganovsky, L. & Rushing, R.A. (2013). Mad Men, Mad World: Sex,
Politics, Style, and the 1960s. USA: Duke University Press.
Heppermann, C. M. (2011). Fabulous!: A Portrait of Andy Warhol. Horn Book
Magazine, 87(4), 169-170.
Michelson, A. (2001). Andy Warhol. Massachusetts: MIT.
Shanes, E. (2005). Andy Warhol. London: Sirrocco.
Stoddart, S.F. (2011). Analyzing Mad Men: Critical Essays on the Television Series.
North Carolina: McFarland& Co.
