1. Andy Warhol
By Molly Eder

3. Research Questions
Andy Warhol was shot on June 3, 1968.
• Did this event affect America at all?
• What kind of effect did Andy Warhol
have on the world?
• Did his creativity inspire just the
artistic community, or did he have an
impact on the rest of society as well?

4. Early Life

5. Born Andrew Warhola
Born on August 6, 1928
American, but of Slovakian descent
Mother: Julia Varchola
Father: Ondrej Varchola
Last name “Varchola” was Americanized
into Warhola; Andy later changed it to
Warhol
Grew up in Oakland in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania

6. Contracted many illnesses as a child
Chorea (disease of the nervous system)
Scarlet fever
Hypochondriac (fear of doctors and hospitals)
Attended the School of Fine Arts at Carnegie
Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon
University)
Moved to New York City in 1949
Gained fame and popularity throughout the 1950s

7. Artistic Works

8. General Information
Warhol never exactly told the
meanings of his works
Art was repetitive
Worked mostly in his studio in New
York City
He named his studio “The Factory”
Pop art was the essence of Warhol
Relied on observations for ideas
Made pieces specifically for people and
events
Used brightly contrasting colors
together

9. Silk Screen Printing
Most common type of art Warhol produced
Usually done on canvas
How silk screen printing works:
1. Select an image
2. Crop the picture
3. Film positive
4. Exposure
5. Underpaint
6. Final print
7. Multiples with different colors

10. Cars
Warhol commonly created many silk screen prints
of cars
Often depicted car crashes
Made the “Art Car” in 1979
Racecar painted with random bursts of color and
designs
Obsessed with car crashes…because his father died
in a car crash when he was just thirteen?

11. Death and Disaster Paintings
Showed the impact of the most powerful media
images during the time
Depicted car crashes, suicides, civil rights fatalities,
pictures of the electric chair, riots, and other
unfortunate events
Focused on violence and death
WHY? Warhol was fascinated about how he could
capture everyday life and tragedies within a frame

13. Candy Darling
Transsexual (male to female)
Warhol was always open to new
ideas, including photographing
“different” people
Candy Darling was portrayed
multiple times throughout
Warhol’s works
Warhol in turn played a huge part
in Candy’s life
Andy himself was gay (supposedly)

14. Warhol had the opportunity to try the movie
camera early in its development
Recorded, captured, documented, and interviewed
Once recorded himself painting on a canvas-the
work is now known as Hammer and Sickle

15. Interviews and Documentations
Warhol had odd interview ideas, such as recording
them in a taxi or on a bed
Interviewed actors, celebrities, or basically anyone
who he found interesting
It sometimes seemed a lot like “home videoing”
Documented himself in interviews and videos
Even the time he donned feminine clothes and
makeup as a drag queen for a special photo shoot
Videoed a family with children at the beach
Created a few television commercials

16. Recorded short television programs
Fashion, makeup, runway shows, male models, celebrities, designers
Andy Warhol’s TV Show
Usually consisted of interviews with interesting people
Warhol was very fascinated by people’s day-to-day lives
Lasted two seasons
Andy Warhol’s 15 Minutes
Showed people and their opinions
Only 4 episodes
Warhol created the term “15 minutes of fame”

17. Collections
Warhol was a collector of beautiful, common, and
unusual objects
Plates, curtains, oriental fans, food trays, miniature
statues, snow globes

18. ☩ Silk screen printed crosses, The Last Supper, and
angels
☩ Was a Ruthenian Rite Catholic

19. Ten Punching Bags
Depicts Jesus on each punching bag with judge
written on each multiple times over his face
Message: Jesus took the blows
Bizarre, controversial, disturbing

20. New Techniques
Tried different things for galleries
Added dimension to his work
First accomplished this by displaying photos and silk
screen printings of celebrities and iconic people of
the time
Later used objects
Silver Clouds
Wanted to attract more viewers

22. Andy Warhol’s Interview
Magazine collection
Interviewed many famous people
Madonna, Shirley Temple, Bette Midler, Cher

23. Attempted
Murder

24. June 3, 1968
Shot by Valerie Solanas while working in his
studio
Suffered multiple injuries
Stomach, esophagus, spleen, liver, and
lungs
Heart was massaged to try to stimulate
movement
Suffered effects of the shooting health-wise
for the rest of his life
Solanas was arrested the following day
Shooting was not greatly publicized -
President Kennedy was assassinated just
two days later
Was eventually made into a movie entitled
“I Shot Andy Warhol”

26. Death
Died on February
22, 1987 in New
York City
Died in his sleep
while recovering
from a gallbladder
surgery

27. Oral History
With Ms. Biega

28. Do you think that Andy’s father’s car crash
somewhat prompted or encouraged Andy to
create so many works of car accidents?
“Maybe…I also think that making art is therapeutic.
Artists should feel good about their work. It’s basically
processing events through art. Andy wanted people to
notice his work. To achieve this, he created art that
made people think about things they normally didn’t
think about, or things they didn’t want to think about,
such as death.”

29. Did religion play a part in Andy’s career?
“Andy had a strict religious background. Even if
he wasn’t practicing, he never really let go of
those beliefs. Therefore, I think that he was
rebellious, yet conservative, because of his
beliefs. For example, many people thought that
he was a drug-user and an alcoholic, but Andy
never did, probably because of the way he was
raised.”

30. Would you consider Andy Warhol as a
pioneer for all artists?
“Definitely. He was friends with many
celebrities and became one of the biggest
artists, mainly because of his pop art. He tried
things that nobody had ever done before. He
mixed classy art with modern twists.”

31. Did Andy’s shooting affect America? Did the
shooting, more importantly, affect Andy’s
ability to produce art?
“The shooting did affect America, but it didn’t
really affect Andy’s art. He was already an icon,
so it just took his fame to another level. But I
don’t think his artwork really changed at all. He
had many workers and employees helping. I do
think, though, that it affected him mentally. It
made him feel vulnerable.”

32. Research Question
Andy Warhol’s shooting affected America, but to an
extent. It concerned the art world, but some still did
not really care. Andy Warhol was an inspiration to
artists, musicians, designers, and so many different
people. His works were always sophisticated, but had
an edge that made them interesting and set them
apart. Andy definitely reached beyond making an
impact on just the artistic community; he was an
American icon who showed everyone a new
perspective to art and to life.