Rachael Majdali

ARH 4450

A Culture of Commodity: A look at Warhol’s portraits

Introduction

The Pop Art movement emerged in the United Kingdom and the United States during the

late 1940s and early 1950s. Artists shifted to Abstract Expressionism in the aftermath of World

War Two, rejecting all connections to mass culture and representational form in favor of gesture

and color. A post-war consumer culture had concurrently emerged, which celebrated the post-

war economic boom and a media-centric culture. Reacting against the rejection of mass culture

by Abstract Expressionism, artists such as Richard Hamilton, Eduardo Paolozzi, Jasper Johns,

Robert Rauschenberg, and Roy Lichtenstein sought strategies to criticize the consumer culture

through the deconstruction of popular culture. Concerned with how their daily lives were being

impacted, along with the subsequent commercialization of people and household objects, many

artists involved in the Pop Art movement appropriated popular culture elements and shifted to

industrialized methods of producing art. One such Pop Artist who pursued the deconstruction of

popular culture through appropriation was Andy Warhol. In this paper, I will examine how Andy

Warhol used four of his celebrity portraits to criticize the commodification of individuals by the

American mass media in the 1960s and 1970s.

 Context

The Pop Art movement started in the late 1940s and early 1950s, long before Andy

Warhol became involved with it. Art historian John Roberts explained in his article Warhol’s

‘Factory’: painting and the mass culture spectator (Roberts, 2004) that following World War

Two, American artists had abandoned avant-garde art in favor of a return to the Romantic and

modernist exploration of free form, color, and gesture.1 (Roberts, 2004, p. 342) With connections

to representational form and mass media effectively severed, artists focused on the interaction

between color and gesture on the canvas. Artists such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko

received praise from critics such as Clement Greenberg and were encouraged to produce abstract

works throughout the 1950s. During this timeframe however, a post-war consumer culture took

hold in the United States. Roberts (2004) expanded on this, explaining that the consumer culture

was affecting the way artists were to behave in a social setting. In addition, the link between

commercial art and gallery-based art had been dissolved. (see Footnote 1) Seeking to blur the

connections between commercial art and gallery art, artists such as Richard Hamilton, Eduardo

Paolozzi, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Roy Lichtenstein rejected Abstract

Expressionism in favor of exploring their experiences in the new consumer culture.

By 1960, Pop Art became a dominant art movement in the United States. To the

astonishment and disgust of art critics, Pop Artists were focusing on the mass media and

appropriating kitsch elements into their artwork. Art critic and historian Barbara Rose made note

of this reception while analyzing Pop Art’s impact in Pop in Perspective (Rose, 1965). While not

1
John Roberts, Warhol’s ‘Factory’: painting and the mass culture spectator (New Haven: Yale

University Press, 2004). 342

outrightly defending Pop Artists from scathing criticism, she mentioned that the public enjoyed

viewing and talking about Pop Art. Moreover, the American media gave the artists attention

regardless of the quality and subject matter of the artwork.2 (Rose, 1965, p.60-61) The treatment

of Pop Art by the media laid the foundation for Andy Warhol’s involvement in the movement in

1961. He had worked as a commercial illustrator in the 1950s, and when he shifted to producing

artwork for galleries, he integrated industrial screen-printing techniques, advertising, and popular

culture figures into his works. This became evident when he exhibited Campbell’s Soup Cans

(1962) at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles in July 1962. The arrangement of the soup can

paintings had drawn the ire of critics, who lambasted them for their focus on advertising. This,

along with the media’s treatment of the exhibition, would solidify Warhol’s position as a

prominent artist of the Pop Art movement.

After the Ferus exhibition, Andy Warhol garnered more national attention when he

started creating celebrity portraits in August 1962. Celebrities played an integral role in

American mass media in the 1960s and 1970s, as they were frequently featured in films,

newspaper articles, and advertisements. Art historian Isabelle Graw discussed the celebrities’

impact on culture in When Life Goes to Work: Andy Warhol (Graw, 2010), explaining that they

were celebrated because of their fame and fortune. However, celebrities often had to market

themselves to achieve fame. 3 (Graw, 2010, p. 107-108) Art historian David McCarthy (2006)

likewise noted this treatment of celebrities in Andy Warhol’s Silver Elvises: Meaning through

2
Barbara Rose from Pop in Perspective (London: Encounter Ltd., 1965), 60-61
3
Isabelle Graw from When Life Goes to Work: Andy Warhol (Cambridge: October Magazine

Ltd., 2010), 107-108

context at the Ferus Gallery in 1963, stating that celebrities were slowly being transformed into

mere puppets by the mass media. 4 (McCarthy, 2006, p. 358) Warhol’s celebrity made note of

this, and the depictions of the celebrities featured in the prints were based on the mass media’s

interpretations of them. Regardless of whether the individual being depicted was at the peak of

their career or being scrutinized for their behavior, Warhol’s portraits showed that celebrities

were being commodified in order to elicit certain responses from the American public.

Analysis

The most notable of Warhol’s celebrity portraits were of the late actress Marilyn Monroe.

Almost immediately after Monroe’s fatal overdose in August 1962, Warhol created portraits that

focused on the media’s celebration of her life. He first appropriated a publicity still of Monroe

from the 1953 film Niagara, which would serve as the source of his silk screen. Afterwards, he

printed the image onto multiple canvases. One of these portraits was Gold Marilyn Monroe

(1962), where a still of Monroe is screen printed against a golden canvas. While portraits such as

Marilyn Diptych (1962) symbolized Monroe’s life and death through the contrast of color and

monochromatic portraits, Gold Marilyn Monroe mocked the treatment of Monroe by American

mass media. Roberts (2004) made a convincing analysis, stating that the way that Monroe was

depicted by Warhol in Gold Marilyn Monroe parodied the celebrity status placed on her. 5

(Roberts, 2004, p.354) As part of this mockery against the press, Warhol applied gold paint to

the canvas. Given gold’s usage in religious iconography, Warhol utilized this color to show that

4
David McCarthy from Andy Warhol’s Silver Elvises: Meaning through context at the Ferus

Gallery in 1963 (New York City: The Art Bulletin, 2006), 358

5
Roberts, Warhol’s ‘Factory’: painting and the mass culture spectator, 354
the American media was worshipping her for her beauty. Johnathan Schroeder (2005) explained

in his article The artist and the brand that while the media made associations with her for her

beauty, her private life showed that it was contrary to what was being portrayed by Hollywood

and American news outlets. In works such as Gold Marilyn Monroe, Warhol noted that

Monroe’s treatment in American popular culture transformed her into a valuable brand despite

her scandalous personal life. 6 (Schroeder, 2005, p. 1294) Even if Marilyn Monroe had endured

numerous scandals, Andy Warhol focused on how the media portrayed her. Instead of depicting

her as an addict, they depicted her as something Americans could look at and aspire to be. To

add to the banality of Gold Marilyn Monroe, he appropriated religious iconography to show that

she was meant to be worshipped by the public.

After Warhol’s Monroe portraits, he gained a considerable amount of attention for his

portraits of the American music icon Elvis Presley. In the 1950s, Elvis Presley was celebrated by

the mass media due to his status as a groundbreaking rock-and-roll musician. By the time Warhol

started his Elvis portraits in the spring of 1963, Presley had transitioned from the role of a famed

musician to the role of a film star. One of the Elvis portraits that was created was Double Elvis

(1963). Presley’s image was appropriated from an advertisement for the 1960 film Flaming Star,

and Warhol printed two copies of the still onto a silver sheet to imply movement. Warhol’s

Double Elvis was critical of American mass culture because of its treatment of Presley as a

commodity. McCarthy (2006) made a convincing analysis of this, explaining that in 1963,

Presley had become a profitable actor because of his celebrity status. In fact, he had beaten out

6
Johnathan Schroeder, The Artist and the Brand (Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing, 2005),

1294
box office records held by other prominent film stars the previous year. Despite the public’s

positive response to Elvis Presley’s role as an actor, critics often derided his films because of his

lackluster acting skills and inconsistent appearance. 7 (McCarthy, 2006, p. 359) In Double Elvis,

Warhol showed Presley’s reduction to a commodity by using silver paint on the screen. This

choice of color not only denoted Presley’s role in American culture as a musician and actor, it

also symbolized associations viewers had with Hollywood. The duplicated Elvises also added to

the commodification, showing that his mere presence on the screen was enough to entice

filmgoers. Even though Presley was celebrated for his music in the 1950s, Warhol showed that

by 1963, Presley was reduced to a commodity by the mass media.

It should be noted that Warhol’s celebrity portraits in the 1960s and 1970s were not

limited to actors. His portraits of Jacqueline Kennedy showed that he also focused on the mass

media’s treatment of public figures. When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on

November 22, 1963, Warhol turned his attention to the media’s treatment of First Lady

Jacqueline Kennedy. Kennedy was praised because of her status as First Lady, but she was

quickly transformed into an icon of national grief in the weeks following the assassination. In

response, Warhol would create portraits of Jacqueline Kennedy, as shown in Sixteen Jackies

(1964). Warhol appropriated photographs of Kennedy from newspapers and magazines before

printing them on rows of blue and grey paints, showing the graininess found in both televisions

and photographs. This was symbolic of Kennedy’s treatment by the media, cheapening her status

to that of a widow. Art critic David Lubin (2003) expanded on this treatment of Kennedy in his

7 McCarthy, Andy Warhol’s Silver Elvises: Meaning through context at the Ferus Gallery in

1963, 359
article Andy Warhol’s Jackie II (1966) by stating that by repeating images of Kennedy grieving,

create certain associations with Kennedy. In this instance, the imagery was used to invoke

sadness. 8 (Lubin, 2003, p. 379) Graw (2010) likewise commented, explaining that the repetitive

imagery in Sixteen Jackies made the assassination appear more convincing and real to

Americans.9 (Graw, 2010, p. 106) With the repetitive imagery found in Sixteen Jackies, Warhol

showed that the mass media willingly invited viewers to make a sympathetic connection with

Kennedy from the comfort of their own homes. The media transformed her into a symbol of grief

however and were intent on repeating images of her in mourning in order to invoke sadness.

Warhol’s celebrity portraits continued into the 1970s, focusing on pop culture icons. In

1972, however, he experimented with political portraiture when he created Vote McGovern

(1972). Warhol appropriated a photograph of President Richard Nixon before printing the stencil

on pure colors. With bright blue skin and a gaudy pink suit, Nixon was made to be undesirable.

Below the print were the words “Vote McGovern”, encouraging viewers to vote Nixon out of

office in favor of George McGovern. Richard Nixon was not a film celebrity per se, but Warhol

created Vote McGovern to satirize the treatment of Nixon by the American press. Roberts (2004)

made note of this, explaining that the American media had greatly treated (if not venerated)

politicians. It was therefore considered demeaning if someone chose to negatively depict them.10

(Roberts, 2004, p. 357) Richard Nixon was facing growing public and political backlash for his

involvement in the Watergate Scandal, but he was still treated as a symbol of power. Warhol

8
David Lubin, Andy Warhol’s Jackie II (Waterville: Colby College, 2003), 379
9
Graw, When Life Goes to Work: Andy Warhol, 106
10
Roberts, Warhol’s ‘Factory’: painting and the mass culture spectator, 357
noted this in Vote McGovern, showing that in the media’s efforts to transform Richard Nixon

from President to an undesirable, they unintentionally transformed him into a scandalized

celebrity. Citing an interview Warhol had with a critic, Edward Powers (Powers, 2012) wrote in

Third Party Politics: Andy Warhol’s “Vote McGovern” that Warhol used a series of

qualifications to explain Nixon’s treatment by the media. Not only was Nixon shown by news

agencies travelling in relative comfort, he was also greeted by massive crowds of people when

travelling on state visits. 11 (Powers, 2012, p. 399) Instead of treating Nixon with the respect

shown by the press, Warhol subverted this treatment in order to show that Nixon was too corrupt

to remain in office.

Conclusion

In the 1960s and 1970s, Andy Warhol garnered attention for his celebrity portraits,

ranging from prominent film stars to up-and-coming musicians. Instead of celebrating the

individuals that were being depicted in these portraits, Andy Warhol sought to criticize the

culture and was not only responsible for the celebrities’ livelihoods, but also for shaping mass

culture in the United States. In four celebrity portraits dating from the 1960s and the 1970s,

Warhol criticized mass media’s commodification of individuals. Even though the celebrities

featured in the portraits were human, they were treated by the media as things ordinary

Americans could associate with. Regardless of whether a celebrity was in Hollywood or the

White House, they were used by the mass media to promote money spending, celebrate aspects

of American life, and even encourage certain behaviors among the population.

11
Edward Powers, Third Party Politics: Andy Warhol’s “Vote McGovern”, (Berlin: Zeitschrift

Fur Kunstgeschichte, 2012), 399. The interview was by Bob Colacello.

 Bibliography

Graw, I. (2010). When Life Goes to Work: Andy Warhol. October, 132, 99–113. doi:

10.1162/octo.2010.132.1.99

Lubin, D. M. (2003). Andy Warhol's Jackie II. Colby Quarterly, 39(4), 375–382. Retrieved from

https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cq/vol39/iss4/7/

Mccarthy, D. (2006). Andy Warhol's Silver Elvises: Meaning through Context at the Ferus

Gallery in 1963. The Art Bulletin, 88(2), 354–372. doi: 10.1080/00043079.2006.10786294

Powers, E.D. (2012). Third Party Politics: Andy Warhol’s “Vote McGovern” (1972). Zeitschrift

Für Kunstgeschichte, 75(3), 391-416.

Rose, B. (1965). Pop in Perspective. Encounter, 59–62.

Schroeder, J. E. (2005). The artist and the brand. European Journal of Marketing, 39 (11/12),

1291–1305. doi: 10.1108/03090560510623262

Wood, P., & Roberts, J. (2004). Warhol’s ‘Factory’: painting and the mass culture spectator. In

Varieties of Modernism (pp. 339–361). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
 Artworks Used

Andy Warhol, Gold Marilyn Monroe, 1962 Andy Warhol, Double Elvis, 1963

Andy Warhol, Sixteen Jackies, 1964 Andy Warhol, Vote McGovern, 1972