Andy Warhol
Warhol was born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh, PA, United States, to Slovakian immigrants of Ruthenian ethnicity. He showed early artistic talent, and studied commercial art at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now known as Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh. Upon graduating in 1949, he relocated to New York City and began a successful career in magazine illustration and advertising. He became well-known mainly for his whimsical ink drawings of shoes done in a loose, blotted style.
left
On June 3, 1968, Valerie Solanas, one of the Factory regulars, entered Warhol's studio and fired three shots, nearly killing him. Although the first two rounds had missed, the third bullet passed through Warhol's left lung, spleen, stomach, liver, esophagus and right lung. Solanas then turned the gun on a companion of Warhol, injuring his thigh. Although Warhol survived these injuries, he never fully recovered. Solanas later explained that "he had too much control over my life."
In 1970s and 1980s he mainly made prints of famous people such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley.
Besides his influence as a painter, Warhol was known as a highly proficient filmmaker. Between 1963 and 1968, he made more than sixty films. His most famous one is Sleep (1963), which shows a man (John Giorno, who had a relationship with Warhol) sleeping for eight hours. In the 35 minute film Blow Job (1963), he shows the face of a man receiving fellatio. Warhol's character has also been represented in several theatrically released movies; he has been portrayed by Crispin Glover, David Bowie, and Jared Harris, in The Doors, Basquiat and I Shot Andy Warhol, respectively.
Warhol created the fashion magazine Interview that is still in print. The loopy title script on the cover is thought to be either his own handwriting or his mother's, who would often do text work for his early commercial pieces.
Warhol used to socialize at Serendipity, a club in New York City. The Andy Warhol Museum is located in the North Shore district of Pittsburgh, PA. It is the largest American art museum dedicated to a single artist.
Andy was generally regarded as very quiet and a meticulous observer. More than one person, half-kidding, referred to him as "death warmed over". He had a keen eye for art in general and is credited with crystallizing the deceptively simple notion that if you simply point at something and call it "art", it is. He was openly gay, rare for celebrities of his stature at the time, and paid tribute to many male friends and workers in his private art and collections. An organized collector, he tossed practically every piece of paper, fan mail and magazine related to his fame along with personal notes, (gay) porn and found artifacts into hundreds of boxes, numbered them, and set them aside. Many of these exist today and are available for research at his Pittsburgh museum.
A kind person at heart, he would regularly volunteer at the homeless shelters in New York, particularly during the busier times of the year (holidays, etc), when he found the time.
Warhol died in New York, NY, United States, following routine gall bladder surgery. He is interred at St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery south of Pittsburgh. Fellow artist Yoko Ono was among the speakers at his funeral.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Quotes 3 External links |
Filmography
Quotes
External links