In 1961 a fashionable commercial artist named Andy Warhol created an artistic furor in New York with his deadpan versions of the Campbell's Soup can. Since then he has become the most talked about but least understood artist of the late 20th century. Warhol made acceptable the use of industrial techniques in the creation of paintings obsessed with modern clich?s--car crashes, Coke bottles, sex symbols such as Marilyn Monroe and Liz Taylor. At the same time, his films-- Blowjob, Sleep, Chelsea Girls, Lonesome Cowboys --forced us to look at the object/subject, transformed the bizarre into the banal, and remade the form and content of cinematic experiment and production.Originally published in 1971, Peter Gidal's Andy Warhol was the first book written on Warhol's films and paintings, a concise and astute analysis of an artistic revolution. "Idol of the jet set," "trend-maker," superstar, Warhol was taken at more than face value in Gidal's unconventional and insightful exploration. Twenty years later, Andy Warhol remains a seminal text, essential for a serious understanding of the artist and the work.
Nobody has understood the work of Andy Warhol like Gidal. It is not filled with gossip about Andy doing this and Andy saying that like 90% of all Warhol-books. This is about his art, and it's damn good!
must-read!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
At the end of a century where the primitive has finally begun to be understood as complex, and the complex has been revealed quite often to be primitive, Gidal's searing analysis soars above the all-too-common self-adulatory art criticism. Gidal truly understands art and 20th century culture (as Warhol did!), and his book deserves repeated reading.
ThriftBooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. We personally assess every book's quality and offer rare, out-of-print treasures. We deliver the joy of reading in recyclable packaging with free standard shipping on US orders over $15. ThriftBooks.com. Read more. Spend less.