Andy Warhol--Godfather of Pop Art

Wolf, Reva. Andy Warhol: Poetry and Gossip in the 1960’s. Los Angles: PSC Publishers, 1997.

odox Catholics. On Sunday, the day of rest, no one was allowed to move. These days were passed indoors with Mrs. Warhola telling stories to the boys. Like most children, Andrew collected the pictures and posters of various celebrities that would define such a body of his work in later years. Andrew was a rather small boy. In interviews Andy Warhol said that he was pale and scrawny and that he was thusly bullied on several occasions by his classmates. When he was fourteen Andrew's father died of tuberculosis, a common malady of the times, especially for the profession. This had a profound affect on young Andrew. As was the Orthodox tradition, the body was laid out in the house for three days of mourning and visitation. During this span Andrew hid under his bed refusing to look at his father's body. Despite the poorly paying job, Andrej managed to set aside money for college. However, he saved only enough to send one child, and the general consensus was that this would be Andrew. In Fifth grade Andrew started attending the free Saturday classes that the Carnegie Institute taught. It is noted that even then young Andrew excelled at his art. Due to the bullying by his classmates he stayed inside a great deal, working on his art. Due to his aptitude in school, Andrew skipped two grades and was admitted into the Carnegie Institute of Technology at the young age of 16. Once in the school Andrew was admitted to the Department of Painting and Design. He studied various aspects of commercial graphic design and after his graduation he moved to New York to seek his fortune. Once out of college Andrew of course had very little money and for a brief while he shared a basement apartment with seventeen other individuals. Finding employment demanded a never-ending series of portfolio submissions. In an interview Andrew said that his name was accidentally changed to Warhol. He says that it was never a conscious decision, it rather happened over time. Regardless, the name change stuck, the first name was shortened, and the world-renowned artist was forming. The basement with seventeen roommates did not last long; Andy was rather fast at finding steady employment. In 1951, two years out of school, Andy Warhol bought a nice apartment for himself. Shortly thereafter his mother and her three cats showed up one evening. Julia Warhola was to live with the son she adored so greatly for her remaining twenty years. During these two decades Andy kept his home life strikingly separate from his public persona. His time with his mother was cherished. Julia was in fact his first collaborator in art. Andy helped her make a book about cats and ‘censored’ heaven, where all cats went. This book was an interesting mixture of his mother's folk art background and his unique styling. Over this time Andy Warhol had his world famous silver covered Factory and his constantly revolving entourage and hangers-on. One of the so-called crazy people that Andy let hang around was Valerie Solanas. She surprised him one day in the Factory and shot him twice with a thirty-two. The bullets ripped through his stomach, spleen, liver, esophagus, and both lungs. At one point Andy Warhol was pronounced dead, but it was not yet his time. The more reputable denizens of the Factory, the people who both influenced and were influenced by Andy Warhol, each in their own way made a contribution to art. Everyone who frequented the Factory had his or her own futures and pasts, be it the guy sweeping the floors or the Beat poets who dropped by. Celebrities and United States Presidents, even foreign royalty knew Andy Warhol. This man's workshop was both a breeding ground of art and a place for gathering and partying. In a cool and withdrawn manner Andy Warhol governed an empire of art that stretched in every conceivable direction. Curiously, the other prominent artists of the time, such as Jasp

Some topics in this essay:
Andy Warhol, York Sing, Pop Art, Electric Chair”, York City, Kenny Scharf, Painting Design, Richard Serra, Andy Warhol’s, Julia Warhola, andy warhol, “electric chair”, pop art, electric chair, kenny scharf, capital punishment, rolling stones, frequented factory, apr 2003, “electric chair” series, execution chamber, artist andy warhol, “big electric chair”, 11 apr 2003, sing electric chair,