PHOTOGRAPHS
Warhol, Andy
U.S. (1928 - 1987)
Interior of Suzy Frankfurt's Apartment
c. 1976 - 1986
Gelatin silver prints machine-sewn with thread
21 1/4 x 27 1/2 (54 x 70 cm) overall; 31 x 36 7/8 x 3/4 in. (78.7 x 93.7 x 1.9 cm) frame size
Joseph and Elaine Monsen Photography Collection, gift of Joseph and Elaine Monsen and The Boeing Company
FA 97.180

Since Andy Warhol first became known at the beginning of the Pop art boom in the early 1960s, critics and the public have argued about him, dismissed him, reinstated him again, and endlessly questioned his thinly veiled self-promotion. Warhol is one of the most famous and enigmatic artists of the 20th century, and his work marked an unmistakable break from past traditions, thoroughly shaking up the art world in the process. A sophisticated and analytical thinker, Warhol worked in almost all the media, but with a special interest in prints, sculpture, and film. His first successful work consisted of sculpture in the form of giant Campbell's Soup cans and Brillo boxes, and was followed by screen-printed images of such contemporary icons as Elvis Presley, Mao, and Jackie Kennedy often depicted in multiple images. His films were gritty, disturbing, and notorious for their sexual frankness. This photograph carries the film sensibility of Warhol's strange, unique, and offhand world view while concentrating on the surface appearance of the rich and famous lifestyle he loves so much. -- Label copy for After Art: Rethinking 150 Years of Photography, December 4, 1994 to March 26, 1995.

Andy Warhol is best known for his paintings derived from altered photographs copied from the popular and commercial media. Often, he borrowed or created serial pictures to address such subjects as the post-war explosion of American consumerism and the power of the mass media to desensitize audiences to violence and tragedy through repetition of sensational documentary pictures. In these four photographs taken of a friend's apartment, Warhol's intent is playful, though still critical. Captivated by the repeated decorative motifs in Suzy Frankfurt's carpet, wallpaper, and upholstery fabric, Warhol stitched together multiple prints of the same picture of her living room to amplify the visual cacophony. Cheap commercial reproduction has proliferated uncontrollably, invading even this private realm. -- Label copy for The Photographic Impulse: A Critical History of Photography, The Joseph and Elaine Monsen Collection, Cincinnati Art Museum, October 12, 2001 to January 6, 2002.

Since Andy Warhol first became known at the beginning of the Pop Art boom in the early 1960s, critics and the public have argued about him, dismissed him, reinstated him again, and endlessly questioned his thinly veiled self-promotion. Warhol is one of the most famous and enigmatic artists of the 20th century, and his work marked an unmistakable break from past traditions, thoroughly shaking up the art world in the process. A sophisticated and analytical thinker, Warhol worked in almost all media, but with a special interest in prints, sculpture, and film. His first successful work consisted of sculpture in the form of giant Campbell's Soup cans and Brillo boxes, and was followed by screen-printed images of such contemporary icons as Elvis Presley, Mao, and Jackie Kennedy often depicted in multiple images. His films were gritty, disturbing, and notorious for their sexual frankness. This photograph carries the film sensibility of Warhol's strange, unique, and offhand world view while concentrating on the surface appearance of the rich and famous lifestyle he loved so much. -- Label copy for Videowatercolors: Carel Balth Among His Contemporaries, October 15, 2011, to January 22, 2012. Copy originally from After Art: Rethinking 150 Years of Photography (1995).