Andy Warhol was the leading artist of his time. He made a mark on pop culture that differentiated him from any other artist out there. Born in 1928 in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania. He lived in the Oakland area with his immigrant parents. When he was a child he contracted Chorea and was bedridden for many months. It was during this time that his mother taught him to draw and from there it became his passion. It wasn’t much long after he developed a love for an that he also began to delve inlo photography and became fixated on it as well. As a child, he took classes and continued to do so in high school. His father died while he was in high school and it was tragic for young Warhol. His father was adamant that his life savings go to Warhol so he could expand his talents into the higher education realm. Warhol attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology and studied pictorial design.
After finishing college, Andy moved to New York City and started working as a commercial artist for Glamour magazine. He was considered one of the best commercial artists of the 1950s. In the early 1960s, he introduced the concept of pop art and it wasn’t long after this impression that he debuted Campbell’s Soup Cans the now iconic piece that he is heavily known for in art culture and contemporary society. When he created soup cans. it was a revolutionary piece. These are 32 individual hand painted canvases. It is good to note that this is the one of the only pieces he does this way. As he continues in his artistic career he uses more printmaking techniques for his work. They are currently installed at the Metropolitan Museum of Modem Art. He never specified a way for the soup cans to be arranged when displayed and MoMA has them arranged in the chronological order in which the soups came out on the consumer market (MoMA).
Like the title suggests. the piece is composed of 32 almost identical Campbell’s soup cans. The only differences in each individual canvas are that they are different types of soup. Ranging from Clam Chowder to Beef Noodle. these cans represent the American working class, Andy was taking a staple piece of society and presenting it as bare as it came. In this era, the idea that made Campbell’s such an iconic figure in American life was that it was a quick and easy meal for people who have been working all day This was dinner for the American people every day and it was a symbol of America, “Warhol. in choosing Campbell’s, elected to associate himself with an established, distinctly American company whose products were already elements of Americana .” Many people criticized him when his work initially was presented in 1962 at the Los Angeles Ferus Gallery A nearby gallery dealer mocked him by placing actual cans of soup in is the window of his shop.
Though distasteful and rude this had no effect on the iconic image. Over the years, the Campbell‘s Soup Cans are still one of the most marketable images of pop art in our society. This piece even takes on a heavier feeling when you think about how absorbed it really is the American lifestyle, In the 1940‘s Campbell was there for the American families who were struggling and rationing because of the war. This soup was at the home front with the families and it was overseas with the men fighting for freedom and for the protection of this country. Campbell’s was the backbone in the nation when it was most needed. This was a time when millions of Americans were having soup every day for lunch, Andy Warhol being one of them. Warhol really grabbed ahold ofa piece of society when he created this iconic image. The image as a whole is so profound because of it’s heavy use of repetition. It is not completely identical repetition but that is was grabs the attention of the viewer.
The shape and objects are repeated over and over, along with the colors. Each can show a different soup type and that is what makes you stay and look at the piece. It is intriguing a specific and drawing. As a viewer. you want to get up close and see what the subtle differences are. Considering each piece is separately hand painted, one could be there all day dissecting it. Also, the isolation of each can to its own canvas and having them disjointedly displayed helps the piece seem unified yet separate. It plays into the idea of different American people eating this soup every day. There is a soup for every individual person but it is still all the same when it comes down to it.
This piece shows the individualism and unification of America. This piece has been so influential in my work as a young artist in high school, I looked too much of Andy’s work as inspiration for graphic design and photography the full frontal, pureness of the piece and what it represents creates an underlying connection to the work. Growing up as a kid, I knew what Campbell’s soup was and so did everyone else. It connected me with people. I feel like this is such an abstract concept to art, especially at the time. It isn’t anything flowery or strangely abstract. It‘s clean and simple but the work speaks volumes. This piece is still very relevant in our time and I think it will continue to be because pop art is still very prevalent. Campbell’s Soup Cans is is the beginning of the pop an concept, it is here to stay.
