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Essay On Andy Warhol

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Andy Warhol uses a unique and whimsical style when he creates one of his iconic pieces. Between the blotted lines and rubber stamps he uses to create his work, he also uses aggressive and bold gestures of paint that set his work apart from other artists of his time. He casts a cool and ironic light on the extensiveness of commercial culture and contemporary celebrity worship. Early in his career, he began to utilize the silkscreen process to transfer photographic images to canvas; images of mass-produced consumer products and Hollywood film stars are among his most recognizable subjects. The compilation of paintings was conceived after President Nixon’s historic trip to China in 1972. “This series announced Warhol’s return to painting with …show more content…

The one that was shown in the UMMA in Ann Arbor was a smaller canvas, which was very different than that seen elsewhere. Some of Warhol’s reproductions were as high has 14 feet tall. Between the use of synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on the canvas it creates a visual eye catching work of art. Warhol used ferocious paint strokes over the Great Helmsman’s face, and used almost a full pastel color scheme throughout. With a strong pastel blue background, and a pastel turquoise shirt painted over the Mao print, you can see the variation in strokes and thought put into the whole painting. Both the background and the shirt are opaque however the layers that covers the face that was made with tints of red and some orange were more translucent and had a harsher stroke to them rather than an even smooth layering that was a distinct dimension. Since there are elements of layering between the opaque, translucent and silkscreen top layer the viewer is able to get some depth out of it when viewing the work from a distance. This depth and levels of transparency create such flow and movement through the piece and cause your eye to flow freely throughout it, just mesmerized by its execution. There is an incorporated texture with the print of Mao, which is black, and that adds another element to make the piece bolder. This element of brings your eye directly to the piece rather than wandering the room to glimpse at the other great works found at

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