This will be a blog about the thoughts of the Archive group - JP Rotchford, Donald Song, and Drew Thies - in Herman Rapaport's Studies in Literary Criticism class.
A figure that has arisen in the discussions of a few groups up to now is Andy Warhol. For the purpose of this blog however, Warhol will be looked at from an archival perspective. More importantly, we will be looking at Warhol’s particular take on archives and information as well as how his particular perspective was reflected in his work. “Everything in your closet should have an expiration date on it the way milk and bread and magazines and newspapers do, and once something passes its expiration date, you should throw it out.” In other words, Warhol was of the belief that things needed to exist within the then and now, and that everything had a limited lifespan to it. This particular perspective is similar to other forms of archives that we have looked at before where information can only be held up to a certain point. One such example is Freud’s belief in the “Mystic Writing Pad,” where once a page is filled up it is then wiped clean and started over. This particular archival perspective is particularly resonant of Warhol’s brand of art work as well. Art is generally seen as the flavor and taste of a certain time period. Art that is popular during a certain time generally reflects everything that needs to be known about that time. It reflects the beliefs, ideals, traditions, customs, political, and social movements of that era. During his lifetime, Warhol created works that were so out there and foreign to the art world of his time that his works produced a number of different responses ranging from positive to negative reviews and everything in between. Basically his art was explosive because it was new and unseen during the 1960’s. Furthermore, the content of Andy Warhol’s art pieces generally covered themes that were popular during the 1960’s and was reflective of the times. His coverage of coke bottles, popular figures such as Monroe and Elvis, and patriotism captured the 1960’s movements and managed to archive them in a personal way that was entirely unique.
The Warhol Archive
ReplyDeleteBy: Donald Song
A figure that has arisen in the discussions of a few groups up to now is Andy Warhol. For the purpose of this blog however, Warhol will be looked at from an archival perspective. More importantly, we will be looking at Warhol’s particular take on archives and information as well as how his particular perspective was reflected in his work.
“Everything in your closet should have an expiration date on it the way milk and bread and magazines and newspapers do, and once something passes its expiration date, you should throw it out.” In other words, Warhol was of the belief that things needed to exist within the then and now, and that everything had a limited lifespan to it. This particular perspective is similar to other forms of archives that we have looked at before where information can only be held up to a certain point. One such example is Freud’s belief in the “Mystic Writing Pad,” where once a page is filled up it is then wiped clean and started over. This particular archival perspective is particularly resonant of Warhol’s brand of art work as well.
Art is generally seen as the flavor and taste of a certain time period. Art that is popular during a certain time generally reflects everything that needs to be known about that time. It reflects the beliefs, ideals, traditions, customs, political, and social movements of that era.
During his lifetime, Warhol created works that were so out there and foreign to the art world of his time that his works produced a number of different responses ranging from positive to negative reviews and everything in between. Basically his art was explosive because it was new and unseen during the 1960’s. Furthermore, the content of Andy Warhol’s art pieces generally covered themes that were popular during the 1960’s and was reflective of the times. His coverage of coke bottles, popular figures such as Monroe and Elvis, and patriotism captured the 1960’s movements and managed to archive them in a personal way that was entirely unique.