Warhol and Pop Art
Soup cans, Marilyns and 15 minutes of fame: how Andy Warhol turned everyday stuff and celebrity into art.
Who he was
Andy Warhol (1928–1987) grew up in Pittsburgh and started out drawing shoe ads. Then he asked a question that changed art: why can’t everyday stuff be art?
Pop art
Pop art took things from mass culture (ads, comics, celebrities, groceries) and put them in galleries.
- Campbell’s Soup Cans (1962): 32 canvases, one for each flavor the company sold.
- Marilyn Monroe: after her death in 1962, Warhol repeated her face again and again in bright colors.
- Roy Lichtenstein did the same with comic-strip panels, dots and all.
Art like a factory
Warhol used silkscreen printing, so he could produce the same image over and over, like a product. His New York studio was literally called The Factory: a hangout for artists, musicians and celebrities. He also managed the band The Velvet Underground and designed their famous banana album cover.
Fifteen minutes
Warhol is credited with predicting that in the future, everyone would be famous for 15 minutes. Reality TV, viral videos and TikTok proved him right.
Pop quiz
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