Andy Warhol: Redesign

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10 ANDY WARHOL, 1928–1987, COMMERCE INTO ART THE NEW KIND OF STAR Andy Warhol was the embodiment of the new kind of star. Creator, producer and actor in one, he enriched the world by providing us with an idol from the world of art. A good businessman, he marketed his quality of elusiveness as well as marketing himself in his role as head of his studio of 18 employees (“the boys and girls”). It has been said of Andy Warhol that “art gained beauty primarily through money.” A friend and sponsor of his early days, Henry Geldzahler, praises the artist’s fascinating combination of business and art. Sociologist and film maker Edgar Morin observed that we project any number of needs and desires that cannot be fulfilled in real life into the exalted, mythical being (of the star); he thus defines the most important socio-psychological requirement in the creation of the 20th century cult of the film star, pop star, etc. The idol appears unreal, an apparition made from light and shade. The cult of the ‘star’ is not really meant for a human being of flesh and blood—his physical presence merely affords proof that this apparition does indeed exist. No one saw through the mechanism of the ‘star’ cult better than Andy Warhol himself, as is illustrated by his public appearances. With the trick of being physically present and at the same time in another world, he seemed to be a physical apparition. For Henry Geldzahler the main reason for Andy Warhol’s fabulous success lies in his ability. According to Geldzahler, thanks to Warhol’s appearance as a “dumb blond,” it was not long before the public began to identify him with the Pop movement. And, as he put it, there have indeed been very few artists— Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Jackson Pollock—in this
century who have come to be recognized by the man on the street in America. Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s favorite model, was also a different kind of “dumb blonde.” But in contrast to her portraitist she was always flesh and blood, even though only a comparatively small number of people actually saw her in person. What films did for the Hollywood stars—from Mary Pickford through Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Bette Davis, Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart to James Stewart, Ingrid Bergman, Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe—the tabloid newspapers did for Andy Warhol by fictionalizing reality. He took advantage of their romanticizing (which in the Sixties was all the rage), spread and to a certain extent created by the triumphant advance of television. The borders between Saturday’s Popeye 1960 Acrylic on canvas 42.75 x 39 in ANDY WARHOL FIRST POP STAR OF THE ART WORLD 11
Page 1 and 2: ANDY WARHOL Y WARHOL ANDY WARH ANDY
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Page 17 and 18: Dance Diagram: Fox Trot 1962 Acryli
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Page 21 and 22: Marilyn 1964 Silkscreen on canvas 4
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Andy Warhol: Redesign

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