Andy Warhol prince of pop

Besides or in spite of his art, most people probably remember Andy Warhol as the person famous for saying, “In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes.” For Warhol, his fame was much greater than the fifteen minutes he had proposed for everybody. For him, it had lasted twenty-five years (until his sudden death due to a complication during a routine gall-bladder operation in 1987) – and it continues even today.

I knew very little about Andy Warhol until I read Andy Warhol prince of pop by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan. The book is a slim and easy-to-read volume of his biography, describing Warhol’s life (born Andrew Warhola) as the third son of Ruthenian (people from an area near the Carpathian Mountains in Eastern Europe comprising parts of Czechoslovakia, Ukraine and Hungary) parents who migrated to the United States after the First World War and settled down in Pittsburgh.

Warhol’s father, Andrej, was a construction worker who took up odd jobs when he was laid off, but “managed to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads during the toughest years of the Depression.” But it was Warhol’s mother, Julia, who was his greatest encouragement, pampering him through his ill-health during his childhood until his later years, almost till Warhol was 40 years of age, living close to Warhol in New York.

Andy Warhol is inseparable from American Pop Art – an art movement that started in the 1960s and continues today. What made Warhol famous over and above other Pop artists (such as Roy Lichtenstein, Tom Wasselmann, James Rosenquist, Claes Oldenburg) was his application of this art form into media such as advertising, design, books, films, TV production and fashion. Besides, when other famous Abstract Expressionist artists of the time (such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko) remained true to their oeuvre, Warhol shamelessly experimented with different media, form and content, extending the boundaries to establish his own style and standards not only on Pop Art, but also on contemporary American culture.

Everybody wanted to be in Andy Warhol’s company – be it in his art, in his films, in his parties, in his studio (The Factory), in his magazine (Interview), and/or be seen with him. That’s probably what Warhol meant by ‘world famous for fifteen minutes’. And, true to his form, he delivered on this promise. For, by 1963, Andy Warhol had achieved fame. He was an American icon.

Decidedly gay, Warhol was successful in winning over both men and women, many of them celebrities in their own right. Yet, many of them turned to him – for memorability. Warhol knew the importance of image-building, creating a memorable image for himself single-handedly. One of his dreams was to become a supermodel, but he did not attain this goal. However, what is of importance (and, perhaps, a learning for us all) is that Andy Warhol was superlatively industrious – he never stopped working, even when he was shopping, partying, or on a holiday. His huge volume of work is a testimony to this fact.

Andy Warhol prince of pop by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan is a quick and enlightening biography of America’s greatest pop artist. The book also contains a Warhol timeline, a list of Warhol’s films and books, a glossary of art terms, notes on quotes and references, and sources of research material on Warhol… making it an interesting mini-compendium on the artist.

[Citation: Andy Warhol prince of pop by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, Laurel-Leaf, 2004.]