Warhol's repetition use - from Wicki
Warhol had a positive view of ordinary culture and felt the
abstract expressionists had taken great pains to ignore the splendor of
modernity.The Campbell's Soup Can series, along with his other series,
provided him with a chance to express his positive view of modern culture.
However, his deadpan manner endeavored to be devoid of emotional and social
commentary. In fact, the work was intended to be without personality or
individual expression.Warhol's view is encapsulated in the quote
". . . a group of painters have come to the common conclusion that the
most banal and even vulgar trappings of modern civilization can, when
transposed to canvas, become Art."
His pop art work differed from serial works by artists such
as Monet, who used series to represent discriminating perception and show that
a painter could recreate shifts in time, light, season, and weather with hand
and eye. Warhol is now understood to represent the modern era of
commercialization and indiscriminate "sameness." When Warhol
eventually showed variation it was not "realistic." His later
variations in color were almost a mockery of discriminating perception. His
adoption of the pseudo-industrial silkscreen process spoke against the use of a
series to demonstrate subtlety. Warhol sought to reject invention and nuance by
creating the appearance that his work had been printed,[44] and in fact, he
systematically recreated imperfections.[36] His series work helped him escape
Lichtenstein's lengthening shadow.[46] Although his soup cans were not as
shocking and vulgar as some of his other early pop art, they still offended the
art world's sensibilities that had developed so as to partake in the intimate
emotions of artistic expression.[44]
Contrasting against Caravaggio's sensual baskets of fruit,
Chardin's plush peaches, or Cezanne's vibrant arrangements of apples, the
mundane Campbell's Soup Cans gave the art world a chill. Furthermore, the idea
of isolating eminently recognizable pop culture items was ridiculous enough to
the art world that both the merits and ethics of the work were perfectly
reasonable debate topics for those who had not even seen the piece.[47]
Warhol's pop art can be seen as a relation to Minimal art in the sense that it
attempts to portray objects in their most simple, immediately recognizable
form. Pop art eliminates overtones and undertones that would otherwise be
associated with representations.[48]
Warhol clearly changed the concept of art appreciation.
Instead of harmonious three-dimensional arrangements of objects, he chose
mechanical derivatives of commercial illustration with an emphasis on the
packaging.[40] His variations of multiple soup cans, for example, made the
process of repetition an appreciated technique: "If you take a Campbell's
Soup can and repeat it fifty times, you are not interested in the retinal
image. According to Marcel Duchamp, what interests you is the concept that
wants to put fifty Campbell's Soup cans on a canvas."[49] The regimented
multiple can depictions almost become an abstraction whose details are less
important than the panorama.[50] In a sense, the representation was more
important than that which was represented.[48] Warhol's interest in machinelike
creation during his early pop art days was misunderstood by those in the art
world, whose value system was threatened by mechanization.[51]
In Europe, audiences had a very different take on his work.
Many perceived it as a subversive and Marxist satire on American
capitalism.[40] If not subversive, it was at least considered a Marxist
critique of pop culture.[52] Given Warhol's apolitical outlook in general this
is not likely the true message. In fact, it is likely that his pop art was
nothing more than an attempt to attract attention to his work.[40]
In an effort to complement the message of his art, Warhol
developed a pop persona after the mass media took note of his pop art. He began
to manifest a teenage-like image, immersing himself in pop culture such as Rock
& Roll shows and fan magazines. Whereas previous artists used repetition to
demonstrate their skill at depicting variation, Warhol coupled
"repetition" with "monotony" as he professed his love of
artwork themes.
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