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Monday
Feb222016

Warhol Themes: The Cult of Celebrity and Death

DateMonday, February 22, 2016 at 9:00AM

Andy Warhol, Gold Marilyn Monroe, 1962, synthetic polymer paint, silkscreened, and oil on canvas, 6 feet 11 1/4 inches x 57 inches (211.4 x 144.7 cm) - Museum of Modern Art, NY (click photo for larger image)Marilyn Monroe died in August 1962. In the following four months, Andy Warhol (1928-1987) made more than twenty silkscreen paintings of her, all based on the same publicity photograph from the 1953 film, Niagara. Warhol found in Monroe a fusion of two of his consistent themes: death and the cult of celebrity. Even as Warhol canonizes Monroe, he reveals her public image as a carefully structured illusion. Redolent of 1950s glamour, the face in Gold Marilyn Monroe is much like the star was herself—high gloss, yet transient; bold, yet vulnerable; compelling, yet elusive. Surrounded by a void, it is like the fadeout at the end of a movie.

AuthorJill | CommentPost a Comment | Reference1 Reference |

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    Response: www.speakers.ca
    by o9leo at o9leo on July 11, 2016
    Warhol found in Monroe a combination of two of his steady topics demise and the faction of big name. Indeed, even as Warhol sanctifies Monroe, he uncovers her open picture as a deliberately organized dream.

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