Stranger than your already eclectic artist, more abstract than even Picasso, able to urinate on a canvas and call it art…he’s a fruitcake… he’s a weirdo….he’s, he’s…well of course he’s not anything thing like that, he’s Andy Warhol. A man for whom the word “pop” must have stood for “paint odd pictures,” because honestly, for some of his work you needed both a historian to explain the time period’s relativity to the piece, and a psychiatrist to measure my response to let me know if I’m “understanding it” correctly. The man was probably a genius, and he made his art speak volumes about everything, the problems in society, the society itself, and even about the more exclusive society of the rich and famous (of which he was an active member).
So, Andy Warhol- social critic? Big time celebrity? Or hypocrite? The answer is all of the above (except for the “hypocrite.” The artist’s roles in society often overlap, because in order for him to criticize and point out the flaw in society, he needed to be a part of it. As a big time celebrity he experienced the pros and cons of that life and its seen over and over in his work. How else can one say they are accurately criticizing? One needs to be in the thick of it all, much like Andy Warhol was, because his opinions were able to reach a greater number of people thanks to his celebrity status.
Andy Warhol’s work can be seen as uniquely strange (I mean come on, oxidation paintings??? I never even realized urine was a medium) but his art captures images of common objects that are familiar and relatable to the public. One example would be his Marilyn Monroe pieces; she was such a recognizable celebrity that her image, along with pieces depicting the Mona Lisa and Jesus Christ, and that of the Last Supper are works that the public understood (somewhat) and could appreciate. They were iconic and meaningful, however somewhat daunting as well. One of his works consisted of a silk-screening of Jesus Christ over a hundred times, (I found it a little intimidating) and the message I found within it was that he was reminding the people the God was always watching.
I agree with what you’re saying here. How many artists can get away with urinating on a piece of canvas and it being considered art? Andy Warhol must have been a genius to be able to accomplish this. And I agree that although some of his works may have been rather strange, they did have a meaning to them.