Andy Warhol

Learning about art all year opened my eyes to how many genres and styles can exist within its domain. The Pop art movement caught my attention and the work of Andy Warhol. Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 6, 1928. Warhol attended college at the Carnegie Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Pictorial Design. He definitely put that to good use. Through various mediums he became quite a famous and influential artist. He did silk screen paintings, film, writing and even sculptures. It was the 1960’s when he was pushed most into the celebrity light. Warhol was painting everyday objects and portraits of famous people which catalyzed the Pop art movement. Some of his most famous pieces are the “Campbell’s Soup Can” and his Marilyn Monroe portrait. He was doing something different and in the process he was changing art and making it not as high brow or definitive. He was one of the most popular artists throughout the Pop movement in America. His iconic images created in his studio, the “factory”, are still popular today.

Whenever anyone is learning about Pop art, Andy Warhol would have to be mentioned. Pop art includes pieces which emulate elements of popular culture, specifically related to commercialism and advertising. This is exactly what Warhol was doing. I would say one of his most famous and widely produced prints are the portraits of Marilyn Monroe. However, even though he is still remembered today, does not mean that everyone appreciates his work. Some people hold the view that his images are nothing more than a simple knife or soup can that cannot symbolize anything. His meanings have been misinterpreted and taken for a lack of talent or intuition. However, these were not just simple soup cans; all of his work had cultural meanings behind them. His paintings dealt with the war and different views specific to the American culture at that time.

Andy Warhol sparked my curiosity. The bright colors and altered versions catch your eye and then the cultural meanings behind them hold your interest. By creating my own piece I realized how a lot of thought needs to go into the work as a whole. I do not believe Warhol applied random colors and shading to the four images due to the fact that they all had to be aesthetically pleasing. Then my partner and I had to come up with a simple image that could portray something about our time. Warhol was criticized for painting a soup can or doing other plain images. But through those pieces, he was able to portray so much. I love how that is possible. I am really happy with our own version of Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe piece. We called our painting, “The New Face of Communication”. We constructed the top half of a body with a cell phone in place of a head. That was our portrait, our Marilyn. What was being portrayed is the loss of human communication and contact. We are losing human elements through technology. The cell phone has become the main and primary source to communicate with less and less demand for direct communication. I really appreciated this experience and the act of being in the artist’s shoes. It adds a whole new dimension to learning about art.

KISS

Earlier this semester, I had the fortunate opportunity to attend a Kiss Concert. Yes these are the men, now in their 60’s, still singing rock and roll in painted faces and extensive costumes. Kiss has been a band since 1973 when they were first formed in New York City. The original four members of the band were Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. With the intense makeup and outfits, they each took on characters including the Star Child, Spaceman, Catman and Demon. It was the release of their first live album, Alive!, in 1975 that really was their breakthrough to stardom. Obviously, they have had some success because Kiss is still a band today. The members that performed at this concert had two original members, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, with the addition of two new members, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer.

Kiss has been recognized as one of the greatest rock bands throughout history. Their style was quite original compared to other rock bands at the time. They did and still do such things as spitting blood, showing off their tongues, breathing fire and other various pyrotechnics. A major aspect of Kiss and what I believe made them famous and different was how they performed and what energy and experience they created for the audience. They changed the face of Rock and Roll and displayed how wild and zealous it could become.

As for me, it isn’t quite my cup of tea. Most of their songs all seemed to sound the same and run together with lots of guitar and screaming lyrics. However I will give credit to them putting on a great show. This performance took place at the Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy. They were lively, had a great stage presence and you can count on them to still spit blood and show you their tongues. There were fireworks, zip lines and yes, platform boots. It was interesting to notice the audience that was there. I would say that the crowd was definitely an older one. Some dressed up in their own renditions of the classic Kiss look, while others enjoyed flashing the “rock on” hand sign. However, there was also a younger group. That was something worth noticing. Even though this band is now over 35 years old, they still have the capability of attracting new and young faces. Speaking of attracting, this extreme band will attract some extreme people. I am not an avid Kiss listener but I did recognize a few hits. They are the artists to some of the classic rock songs and will be hard to ever forget. Their image, personas and overall performances changed the rock world as we know it.

Songs that Never Die

“Hello Dolly”: I was drawn towards “Hello Dolly” because of Louis Armstrong. His unique voice and how it makes me feel has always made me a big fan. Also from class, I knew that “Hello Dolly” won a Grammy Award in 1964. I had no idea, however, that in the beginning it really meant nothing to Louis. He had never heard of the song, written by Jerry Herman, before he recorded it. Jerry thought similarly about “Hello Dolly” and its insignificance because he was surprised when he heard Louis was going to record it. It wasn’t till Armstrong’s audiences were requesting the song a year or so later, that he remembered he ever sung “Hello Dolly”. Obviously with Louis winning a Grammy, its popularity grew significantly after this point. It is wild to consider a song, that the artist couldn’t even remember himself, turned into a Grammy. This highlights the influence that fans and audiences can have.

This song fits right in with the Jazz era of the time. Upon listening to the song again I realized there are no moving or inspiring lyrics or even many words at all. Jazz is all about the music, the variations and beats, and how the artist can portray his emotions. In this case Louis Armstrong has the ability to turn any song into one worth listening to with his style and talent. In “Hello Dolly”, he inserted an “individual stamp” in his solo which identifies him in a piece. This song even pushed the Beatles off the number one in the charts, which made Louis, at the age of 63, the oldest artist to hold that spot.

“La Bamba”: Imagine being an artist and never knowing how the audience may react to your song. I have never thought about how a hit song does just that, becomes a hit. It definitely isn’t something that the artist can predict. I started thinking of this due to the history behind “La Bamba”. Ritchie Valens did not think twice about this song because its purpose was simply to fill the B side of the record. The main focus of the record, the predicted hit, was “Donna”. “La Bamba” was never considered with importance because it was in Spanish and so different from anything else he had done. This song was originally an 18^th century folk Mexican song played during weddings. Which leads to only another reason this song was made with hesitation, Ritchie didn’t want to commercialize a song that was a part of history and his culture. But it was a hit. Ritchie became a teen idol and his popularity grew.

Ritchie had even attempted to translate “La Bamba” into English, but realized it was too great of a task. Think about how things would be different if he had translated it and made it more uniform and acceptable for the time. Thankfully he didn’t. This is how music grows and evolves, through artists venturing into new styles and variations. “La Bamba” was just that, something new and fresh and it hooked the audience. It was a mixing of Latin into rock and it opened the doorway to a new style.

“Purple Haze”: Jimi Hendrix is one of the reasons that my brother started playing guitar. He is a rock legend. This song and any song by Jimi have now changed for me, due to learning more about its history. I had no idea what a shy character Jimi was and how much he really didn’t like his own voice. He even went to the extent of hiding his face while recording to make it easier for him to perform. This song is what launched his career in the United States. “Purple Haze” was significant to many musicians and audiences alike. It had such impact to the extent where some musicians claimed they did not want to pick up their guitar or make music of their own because it could not reach the level that Hendrix was able to reach. However that was not his intent. Music is not an arena to show off and make others jealous, but to inspire. Jimi didn’t want others to try to mimic what he did but wanted to motivate them to venture out and find their sound. Jimi had taken rock to a different level. The electric guitar in this song made sounds that it had never been asked to make before. Jimi even lit his guitar on fire! He was all about experimenting and was not afraid to do something new and crazy.

Jimi started listening to music as a child and one of his idols was Muddy Waters. It is really incredible to consider the chain of effect that all musicians have. Take Hendrix for example, he loved listening to Muddy Waters. However, who did Muddy Waters listen to as a kid? And who afterwards has listened to Hendrix which will then inspire them to create music? “Purple Haze” was not only a great song but a turning point in rock history and I am glad that I can still appreciate Hendrix today.