Andy Warhol (1928–1987) is hailed as a very powerful proponent of the Pop art movement. A crucial and creative observer of American society, he explored key themes of consumerism, materialism, media, and celebrity.
Drawing on recent advertisements, comic strips, consumer products, and Hollywood’s most famous faces, Warhol proposed a radical reevaluation of what constituted artistic subject matter. Through Warhol, a Campbell’s soup can and Coca Cola bottle become as worthy of artistic status as any traditional still life. On the same time, Warhol reconfigured the role of the artist. Famously stating “I wish to be a machine,” he systematically reduced the presence of his own authorship, working with mass-production methods and images, in addition to dozens of assistants in a studio he dubbed the Factory.
This book introduces Warhol’s multifaceted, prolific oeuvre, which revolutionized distinctions between “high” and “low” art and integrated ideas of living, producing, and consuming that remain central questions of up to date experience.
About the series
Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the most productive-selling art book collection ever published. Every book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art series features:
a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
a concise biography
approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions
