1979

It is hardly surprising that Andy Warhol, being a celebrity-obsessive, possessed an interest in Liza Minnelli. More than anyone else, Minnelli is a symbol of celebrity culture. The daughter of Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli, Liza was a celebrity from birth, raised on sets and studios, and appeared onscreen at the tender age of 2½. Her life encapsulates the notion of fame, both the glamour and the misery; despite all the success and acclaim, Minnelli’s life has been constantly rocked by divorce, death and drugs.

Minnelli was part of Warhol’s circle in the 1970s and 1980s and appears in more than one of his works. Her image lends itself well to Warhol’s style of portraiture: the short black hair, heavily made-up eyes and big red lips create a face that is bold, brash and unmistakable. However, those who know about her troubled life may sense a sadness that clashes with the bright colours.

• © Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007

1968

Warhol’s Brillo Boxes are replications of actual Brillo boxes. They consist of hollow plywood boxes onto which Warhol created the packaging look, using polymer paint and silkscreen ink. They were first produced in 1964 and at the time they were considered radical; by striving to replicate consumer packaging, Warhol challenged commonly held views about art.

The obvious question raised by Brillo Boxes is: what differentiates Warhol’s replications from actual Brillo boxes? There are two main answers to this. Firstly, Warhol’s Brillo Boxes were not produced on such a massive scale. Secondly, there are – and never were – any Brillo pads within Warhol’s replicas.

• © Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007

1980

Warhol produced more than one portrait of Joseph Beuys, a contemporary of his, hinting at a mutual respect between the two artists. Both shared an understanding and mastery of the news media which informed their work, albeit in different ways. The pair differed, however, in their attitude toward American popular culture; whereas Warhol celebrated the phenomenon, Beuys remained ambivalent towards it.

The Joseph Beuys exhibition at the National Gallery Complex in autumn 2008 is the second in the Bank of Scotland totalART series.

• © Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007

Gilbert & George are two of the most infamous British artists from the last fifty years. In 2007, a retrospective of their work filled an entire floor of Tate Modern in London, making them the only artists other than Andy Warhol to be granted that privilege. But there is more that links Warhol to Gilbert & George, partly explaining his decision to depict them.

Much like Warhol, Gilbert & George have a healthy disdain for the high-brow, resulting in works that, like Warhol’s screenprints, are bold, colourful and accessible to all. It is fitting then that they should be the subjects of this work, typical of Andy Warhol’s style.

• © Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007

1966

This fun, interactive work was created for a 1966 exhibition at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York. It consists of an entire roomful of silver balloons which move with the air currents of the room. Warhol created the original balloons with Billy Klüver, an engineer keen to introduce new technology into the arts. Each one is a metalized plastic film filled with a mixture of helium and air.

Wherever the Silver Clouds are exhibited, they prove to be incredibly popular with audiences of all ages. They were even the inspiration for a work of dance theatre, when choreographer Merce Cunningham was enthused enough to include them in one of his shows; RainForest premiered in 1968 with Warhol himself as set designer.

• © Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007

1985-6

As suggested by the title, this work puts a price tag on the figure of Jesus Christ.  Based on an advert for a night light in the form of Christ this work welds together two phenomena believed by many to be diametrically opposed: Christianity and commercialism. There is no moralising involved; rather, Warhol merely shows us the image and allows us to decide for ourselves whether there exists any irony. The bold use of contrasting black and white subtly introduces Christian notions of Good and Evil.

• © Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007

1981

It is interesting that Warhol chose a gun as the subject for this work. Produced in 1981, it is reminiscent of two major periods of the artist’s work.

Firstly, it calls to mind Campbell’s Soup Cans, in which an instantly recognisable symbol is repeatedly screenprinted in red and white. This echoing of Warhol’s prints of consumer products presents this weapon as a part of American culture alongside Coke bottles and Elvis Presley.

But Gun is also reminiscent of Warhol’s Death and Disaster series from the early sixties, which included depictions of electric chairs and assassination scenes. Viewing Gun within the context of Warhol’s previous work provides extra resonance: the image succinctly captures America’s ambivalent relationship with armed weapons.

• © Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007

1986

This work is part of a series produced by Warhol in 1986, one of the last serial groups produced by the artist. Each work in the series is a screenprint of a pattern based upon a military camouflage pattern; however, Warhol manipulated the pattern so as to accentuate the vegetable-like effect of leaf-shaped sprigs. The resulting work stands at the crossroads of military paraphernalia, landscape painting and brightly coloured Pop Art.

• © Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007

1976

During the 1970s the artist produced a series of Skull paintings, by the use of screenprints in the same way as his celebrity portraits. It is interesting to compare the anonymity of the former with the instant recognisability of the latter. Of course, behind the face of every celebrity there is an unrecognisable skull.

The skull, and the mortality it symbolises, are usually considered to be a morbid subject. In contrast, Warhol painted them in bright, luscious colours and chose a photograph for the image in which the shadow cast by the skull resemble a baby’s head.

More than any other work, Warhol’s Skull series encapsulates the death/life duality running through his work: simultaneously, life is celebrated whilst death is considered.

• © Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007