Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol is a very well-known artist for pop art which became very popular in the late 20^th century. Though he is mostly remembered for his paintings, he had also created other works such as commercial advertisements and films.

Around the 1960, Andy Warhol had decided to make a name for him in pop art. Back then, pop art was a new style of art. It began in the mid-1950s in England. Pop art consists of realistic interpretations of popular everyday items.

Warhol was used to a blotted-line technique which is a technique where one has to tape two pieces of blank paper together and then draws in ink on one page. Then both the pages would be pressed together. The result would be a picture with irregular lines in which Andy Warhol would colour in with watercolours. Therefore when he tried pop art, it was a bit difficult for him to use paint and canvas and had some trouble deciding what to paint.

The artist began with Coke bottles and comic strips. However, his work was not getting the attention he wished for. In December 1961, a friend of his suggested for him to paint what he liked most in the world, perhaps something like money and a can of soup. He gave her $50 for the advice.

In 1962 Warhol’s first exhibition was up at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles. His canvases of Campbell’s soup were displayed, one canvas for each of the 32 types of Campbell’s soup. Lastly, he sold all the paintings as a set for a $1000.

By experience, Warhol noticed that he couldn’t make his paintings fast enough on canvas. In 1962, the artist discovered the process of silk screening. Silk screening is a technique which uses a specially prepared section of silk as a stencil, allowing one silk screen to create similar patterns for a lot of times. He immediately began making paintings of celebrities. His most common one is the large collection of Marilyn Monroe. Warhol would have used this style for the rest of his life.

References:

About, 2014. 20^th Century History. [online] Available at: <http://history1900s.about.com/od/artists/p/warhol.htm> [Accessed 26, February 2014]

Jim Fitzpatrick | Che Guevara

Jim Fitzpatrick’s art has always been controversial in some way or another. He is known as a Celtic Artist. However, Fitzpatrick is very well known for the poster of the terrorist Che Guevara of May 1968 which was published just after his death. It became an iconic image of the anti-Vietnam war protests worldwide and today it is also a symbol of F.A.R.C in Columbia in their fight for freedom.

The Che Guevara poster became worldwide and caused outrage wherever it appeared. Fitzpatrick wanted Guevara to never be forgotten. Therefore he made his poster free of copyright. 

The original poster was an oil painting which was then printed out. Since the poster that Jim Fitzpatrick created was to idolise Guevara, every shop that stocked the poster was threatened or harassed.

As you can see in the images below the poster of Che Guevara was translated to different art movements such as Pop Art. In this example you can see that whoever experimented with this poster was inspired from Any Warhol’s art.

 Today, we can see that even other artists are looking at Jim Fitzpatrick's work for inspiration when creating other posters.

References:

Jim Fitzpatrick, 2014. Che | Jim Fitzpatrick. [online] Available at : <http://www.jimfitzpatrick.com/che/> [Accessed 22 February, 2014]. 

Liberty Leading the People

Eugene Delacroix, 1830. Liberty Leading the People [oil on canvas]. Louvre.

This painting is called “Liberty Leading the People”. It was painted by Eugene Delacroix in 1830. The 1830 is part of the Romantic period. The woman shown in this painting represents Liberty.

Delacroix’s masterpiece shows a moment of ‘anarchic freedom’, when anything seemed possible.  This painting shows the July Revolution of 1830. It is a clear image of what revolution feels like; Violent, murderous, ecstatic, etc.

The composition of this artwork is somehow triangular. Liberty is the highest from all other people and she is also holding up the flag of liberty which is now the French national flag. Lighting also helps to set the focus on the woman first.

Liberty Leading the People is basically a dream. Liberty was never there as a semi-nude figure leading people forward to death or victory. Delacroix in his painting made her a living, breathing woman, majestic and maybe also frightening but definitely alive. By her position, and also the position of her dress you can nearly see movement. That is what tells us that the artist managed to create liberty as a living person.

References:

The Guardian, 2005. Theguardian. [online] Available at: <http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2005/apr/02/art1> [Accessed 20 February, 2014]. 

Romanticism

The period of Romanticism started in the late 18^th century and it developed during the 19^th century. This movement represents different thoughts.  Nature with its uncontrollable power was greatly expressed in these paintings. Romanticism shows many emotions such as thought, struggle, death, emotional intensity, tragedy and bravery.

Théodore Gericault, 1819. The Raft of The Medusa [oil on canvas]. Musé du Louvre, Paris

The Raft of the Medusa is a clear example of Romanticism art. This painting is done by Théodore Gericaultin 1819. It shows a scene of a shipwreck where one can clearly see man’s struggle against the uncontrollable power of nature. Feelings are also clearly shown in this painting. The painting is based on a real life event where a raft hit a storm and got wrecked. There were 50 people on the raft but only 15 of them survived. A lot of research was done on the event by the artist. Gericault spent years in his studio working on this work of art. He also asked a carpenter to build a raft exactly like the one that got wrecked and studied dead bodies in order to make this painting as emotional as possible.

John Constable, 1827. Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds [oil on canvas]. Vicotria and Albert Museum, London.

This painting is called Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Grounds, also painted in the period of Romanticism. It was painted by John Constable in the 1827. His art expresses his response to the English countryside. Unlike The Raft of the Medusa, this painting does not show any human figures. However, one can clearly see what calm, relaxing mood this painting can create.

References:
Smarthistory, Art History at Khan Academy, 2011. Géricault, Raft of the Medusa, 1818-19. [Video online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XympPG5iD-Y#t=382> [Accessed 16 February 2014]. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-2013, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. [online] Available at: <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/roma/hd_roma.htm#top> [Accessed 15 February 2014].