Before Warhol, fine art was expected to be unique, emotional, and crafted by the hand of the artist.
He took that entire idea and dumped it. He argued that celebrities were just products (just like soup).
He named his studio The Factory and mass screen printed the work - and didn't even do it all himself.
I think he liked it if the screen prints were slightly misaligned- like cheap fliers.
It really shook up the art world. It was
exciting and neon-soaked. American supermarkets and Hollywood tabloids brought into the gallery, larger than life.
I don't think making them of modern "stars" has the same meaning.
It was extraordinary in its day.
I don't remember having really rregistered Warhol myself till the late 60s.
They seemed pretty wild to me - then in yhd early 70s there was a retrospective at The Tate. I think the prints were everywhere then...
This (below) is about Pop art but I think it's relevant to Warhol (I am no kind of art buff!)... I love this quote:
Popular, transient, expendable, low cost, mass-produced, young, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamorous, and Big Business.’
- Richard Hamilton
