One presentation that stood out to me from the Friday’s class was the life and art of Andy Warhol. I was interested to find out about his life and what influenced him in his art work. Reading Just Kids I had limited knowledge about him but after the presentation I was able to make more connections to the text. Warhol was a leading figure in the visual art movement that became known as pop art. He took inspiration from advertisements and the commercial culture of his time. His art was criticized for being controversial and critics debated whether his commentary on commercial illustrations should be considered art. Warhol established a studio, The Factory, where many distinguished intellectuals including drag queens, playwrights, people who embraced Bohemian culture, Hollywood celebrities, and wealthy patrons gathered. I made a connection to the text, Just Kids, where Patti Smith talks about her experience as an artist and her connection with Andy Warhol.

From the presentation I learned that he was one of the first people to experiment with many forms of media such as computer-generated graphics, painting, printmaking, photography, silk screening, sculpture, film, and music. He created the famous pop-art style picture of Marilyn Monroe and Campbell soup cans. Both of these were received with controversy but became iconic art pieces of the time. I found it interesting how Ashley presented his biography and connected his artwork to the art history of New York City.