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Andy Warhol Interpretation

Decent Essays

The movie “Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol” describes his work as being focused on sex,

drugs, and beautiful people. All these of these aspects are a part of Andy Warhol’s personal life and the

popular culture of the 1960s. Deeply rooted in the popular culture of the time were the ideas of images,

power and politics, all of which are shown through his work.

Representation is, as described in “Practices of Looking”, is the use of language and images in order to

create a meaning and viewer interpretation. This interpretation is a way for the audience to either

better understand or alter their view of their world and reality. Many of Andy Warhol’s artistic pieces

played off the same idea of representation that was present in Rene …show more content…

Andy Warhol’s “32

Campbell’s Soup Cans” exemplifies the same ideas of representation. As Warhol explained, the soup

cans were a part of his previous personal life, they were something that he had for lunch every single

day as a child. The Campbell’s cans relate to Magritte because both painting merely represent the image

that is shown. Just as the pipe is not actually a pipe, the soup cans aren’t actually soup cans. Both as

representations of aspects of the current culture. They create meaning, maybe evoke a memory.

One of Andy’s pieces, “The Nose Job” illustrates the idea behind the myth of photographic truth. The

myth is the idea that while a photo is supposed to offer a “truth”, there are always several truths and

limitations that come with a photograph. This idea explains that the truth of a photo is actually a myth

and not a truth at all. The artistic piece by Andy depicts two images, one with a woman whose nose is

overhung, sort of like a witch nose. The second image is one with the American beauty nose. This was a

time in history where physical appearance was becoming more emphasized and the beauty of

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