Andy Warhol

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Andy Warhol and the effect of his work on politics
Introduction
Andy Warhol, a renowned artist of the 19th century, was born in 1928 as the fourth born in a family of four siblings. His drawing career kicked off in the 1950s. His first paintings were for advertisement purposes. These gave him fame across the country and with no time he was becoming a star in the art field. In his career, he mainly addressed contemporary issues. These ranged from advertisements (as portrayed by his coca cola painting of 1962) to beauty (depicted in his Gold Marilyn Monroe painting) to politics (as represented in his Mao painting of 1973). Andy believed that art good art was based on every day to day object and sought not to complicate it. From these everyday objects, he made paintings that portrayed deep meanings and that were easily understood by the audience. A good example that described simplicity in his work is the Campbell’s Soup Cans painting in 1962. It is believed that soup was a major part of his diet as would take it on a daily basis and therefore, chose to make a painting of it. A simple painting that depicted the situation the supermarket. It is believed that the drawing gave rise to a new picture perspective back in the day. Warhol’s art portrayed a strong political message to the people on issues that they were ignoring and considering to be fiction: terrorism, communism and the controversial death penalty among others.
In the 1970’s, Warhol halted his painting career and chose to put more of his time in filmmaking.

In his films, the themes he addressed included contemporary issue just as in his paintings. He addressed the issue of sleep and eating among many other lifestyles. He later, however, became an active painter again before he passed on in 1987 after experiencing gallbladder complications. The Warhol museum stands to present to honor his work. The museum hosts some of his greatest pieces of art. This paper focuses on the political aspect of Warhol’s paintings and their effect.
Campbell’s Soup Cans (1962)
This drawing made from simple daily objects had many applications. It was both advertisements oriented as well as politically. The painting depicted many identical soup cans painted on a canvas. This picture addressed the issue of equality right from the objects of art to the political arena. At the time there was increased political inequality with one party dominating, and this gave no chance to other able individuals outside the party. The painting is made of same equal cans to show that the people should practice equality in all aspects.
The Mao painting (1973)
Mao Zedong, a founder, and leader of the China Republic was known for his communist revolutionary which he pushed for. From Mao’s book, Warhol took the cover image and reproduced it in canvas after the then president; Richard Nixon paid China a visit. This style of art was still new to the art industry. Artists were used to painting but here was Warhol introducing art from images. He made so many of these and pinned them on a wall. Intentionally, he made as large as 15 feet x 10 feet; depicting the dominating character and nature of the people of China. It also was symbolic of the unshaken power he wielded. This was also a representation of the image of Mao as the people viewed him; their supreme leader.
Communism was a significant difference between US and China Republic. These differences were so immense that they had led to the Cold War. The United States was against communism whereas China advocated for the same. The Cold War saw the gap between the two countries widen. The war was not for the soft-headed. Many died in the struggle against communists and anti-communists. The Soviet did not directly attack the US during this war but being among the well powerful countries of the time it took the burden of supporting those affected. This was also a politically calculated move in that after the Soviet had won the other states over, it would become too strong to over power. The US would then fall under its rule (“The Anti-China Encirclement …” 349-352).
Warhol’s idea behind this piece of art was to present all the people with a chance to have a bit of what they wanted with them. Beside the large sizes, he also produced medium and small sizes according to the people’s preference. He provided a way for people to own an image of their leader in their homes. Warhol, however, used this piece of art to express his opinion on the then burning issue of communism. He clearly depicts that he was against communism through the use of graffiti. Using color splashes, he defaced Zedong’s face using color splashes and further adds some pun on the image. This was to raise his voice over Mao’s.
The fallen body painting (1963)
This painting came at a time when Warhol was trying address the increasing suicide scenes at the time. Evelyn McHale let herself down from the 86th floor. She hit on a limousine parked down there and lucky enough for Warhol; Robert Wiles captured images of her immediately after reaching the ground. He was reproducing images that depicted death passing the message that death was a scaring concept among many in the society yet they try to hold it back. He found the idea of presenting the end attractive. In this particular case, a body lying on the ground just after life has left it was fascinating. He, however, chose to blur it with dark ink.
Years later, this piece of work can be related politically today through the terrorism rise. This image is blurred to show invisibility of the terrorists in the community, yet their presence is an important entity in the field of politics. The same scene was displayed in 9/11 attack. Bodies lay all over. The terrorist act was created after that. This image sought to awaken the people to look beyond the image and realize that the enemy was almost invisible. It awoke the people also on suicide which was rampant then. Warhol was a visionary man. In this painting, he puts forward the idea that what sticks and remains in the minds of the people are the images and unfortunately not the real event (Baudrillard and Jean 25).
The electric chair painting (1964)
The electric chair was the main tool of execution then. This method of killing was painful, and it’s torturous. Electric voltages are applied from the legs and the head, causing fatal body organs failure and finally dull. The painting of this chair, which was done using screen print and ink, depicts the chair in an old background (Capers 243). Warhol had developed a passion for death related art. Besides this being a part of his death related art, Warhol expresses his opinion on the electronic execution matter which was politically controversial. It was a heated debate with the punishment being abolished in the same year. For humanity considerations, the punishment being death and not torture, this method was unnecessary. It is amazing how people always have different opinions in all matters. Others argued that for a convicted person death should not be as smooth.
Art is a very powerful tool in spreading information. This piece of art influenced the decision of many. The punishment was successively abolished and replaced with a more human on the injection. This injection is a combination drug that kills in a less painful way. Today, it is the choice of the prisoner to decide which way to go out.
Conclusion
Warhol’s use of ordinary objects to address contemporary issues affecting the society was a great success. Politically, his art passed strong messages on opinions on national matters. Being an artist, he was a public figure, and his political views had an influence on the people. Besides this influence, his art also depicted and directly spoke to the people on these political issues. He created political awareness among the people; through the Mao painting he passed a negative vibe toward communism as was the case in the Republic of China. It is amazing how some of his paintings displayed a political message to be realized years later(an example is the falling body Painting whose true political aspect came to be in 2001 many years after its creation).
Not only was his work politically great but also prompted other artists to make art that conveyed strong political messages. One of these artists was Robert Rauschenberg who through his Skyway painting addressed the Murder of John F. Kennedy.

Works cited
Baudrillard, Jean and Jean Baudrillard. The Spirit Of Terrorism. 1st ed. London: Verso, 2003. Print.
Capers, Bennett. “On Andy Warhol’s “Electric Chair”. California Law Review 94.1 (2006): 243. Web.
“The Anti-China Encirclement …”. Studies in Comparative Communism 2.3-4 (1969): 349-352. Web.