Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1928 and was raised in a coal-mining town in Philadelphia. Andy always had a problem with grammar school. He was not a social child and preferred to keep to himself. Andy started to distance himself from boys and became closer to girls and his newfound talent of drawing. Andy soon got the reputation as a "mamas boy." If he was not with his girlfriends or sketching in his notebook, he was out with his mother helping her pick out hats and skirts. From early on in Andy's life he had been a sickly child.Andy attended Scheley High School. His art talent at school was amazing. He wasn't even in the art club because his talent was so superi ...view middle of the document...
In 1951 Andy got a job as a maior assistant to illustrate a complete book of Etiquette by Amy Vanderbits. For the next two or three years Andy did illustration work for magazines and store windows. He also got a reputation as a workaholic.In 1963 Andy moved into a flat at 231 East 47th street. This location became known as "the Factory." Andy did most of his recognized art there. The Factory had a large freight elevator that took you to the loft. The doors opened up to a 140-sq/ft room with a couple of toilets in the back and a payphone by the door. The Factory became the "in crowd hang out." Its trippy lighting and tin foil walls attracted every type of person. The Factory was now a Mecca, part film studio, and part Salvation Army for struggling artists.As a viewer can tell from a variety of Andy's paintings, he had an erotic side to him. Andy has never come entirely out with the truth but some interesting facts have been found. Andy first discovered he had a homosexual taste when he was a student at Carnegie Tech. Most if Andy's advertisements and window displays incorporated shoes. He was known to have a slight foot fetish. Boyfriends of Andy have admitted that Andy enjoyed licking their shoes while making love.In 1961 Andy started to play with the idea of mass production. He chose common day items such as Campbell soup cans, money, Coca-cola, and newspaper headlines. Those are some of his most famous works. He also did work on famous people such as Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Onasis. In starting pop art Andy called upon everything he had learned from advertising. The look from the backs of cheep magazines. The simplest crummiest ads for jobs, TV, wigs, and canned food, Andy made into art. Andy had another artistic style to him; it was one that came from his childhood. Being raised in poverty and being exposed to such horrific sights contributed to his next movement of work. Andy was curious in the acts of God, whether it was from Mother Nature killings or atomic bombs.In June of 1...
