 “A late 20th-century style and concept in the arts, architecture, and criticism, which represents a departure from modernism and is characterized by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions, a mixing of different artistic styles and media, and a general distrust of theories.”
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/postmodernism
For this piece I wanted to focus on Andy Warhol who was often referred to as the renaissance of the 20th century. I admire his work for many reasons such as the use of colour, combination of real life and almost cartoon styles and for how adventurous and creative it is. I have always gone to his work for artist research and inspiration because his pieces have a timeless feel to them. The first piece I looked at was his paintings of Marilyn Monroe. The images are so minimal which help to reveal all Marilyn’s flaws and faults. This stripped-down approach really makes this Hollywood royal appear to be someone like you and me. On the other hand, the use of colours reminds us of her Hollywood status.
Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe Series (1962, 1967)
The second piece of Andy Warhol’s work I looked at was the soup cans piece. I love this piece because it is a very random thing to paint but the style, colours and repetitive pattern really draw you in. Warhol used the same style he used in the Marilyn Monroe series (the repetition) which is a running theme throughout his work.
Andy Warhol, Campbells Soup Cans, 1962
The third piece of Warhol’s I looked at is his painting of Michael Jackson. In the 20 years between the painting of Marilyn Monroe and the painting of Michael Jackson you can see that nothing has really changed with Andy Warhol’s style of painting. The paintings still deconstruct the colours and show a more abstract form of the person being painted. One thing I really liked about this piece was the yellow outlines on the hair, this colour really stands out on Michael Jackson’s hair and is a technique you wouldn’t have really seen in artwork before, yet its mixed with a traditional, modernist, portrait style of painting. These postmodernist approaches, not only in Warhol’s work, allow for some really creative and amazing pieces.
Andy Warhol, Michael Jackson (1984)