Boxes
Artist
Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987)
Title
Boxes
Date
April 26, 1982
Medium/Dimensions
Gelatin Silver Print
Object Number
2008.17.143
Description
Despite the financial hardships of his Depression era youth, Warhol’s parents, Andrej and Julia, bought his first camera at the age of eight. This gift would lead to a lifetime of observing and documenting his surroundings and relationships that influenced his compositional sense and inspired the working method for some of his most well-known prints. For example, the photograph at the left reveals his affinity for the repetition of shapes, here in the form of stacked boxes. This type of composition also appears in his many of his finished portraits, such as this vivid screen print of German artist Joseph Beuys.
Warhol first met Beuys in 1979 at an art opening in Düsseldorf, Germany. Mere moments after meeting Beuys, Warhol asked to photograph him. Perhaps because of the public setting, Warhol only took one shot of Beuys, rather than his typical multitude of poses per subject (like the Polaroids of artist Sandro Chia in the center case). The photograph of Beuys, which served as a “sketch,” became the basis for a series of screen print portraits with many variations. Some held only a single, monochromatic image of Beuys. Others, like this one, bear Warhol’s recognizable multiplicity of brightly-colored images. In a nod to Beuys’ own preferred materials, one of which was felt, Warhol covered this portrait of the artist with rayon flocking.
Warhol’s humorous diary entry from a later encounter with Beuys demonstrates both his respect for the artist and his openness regarding what constitutes finished work of art.
Sunday, March 8, 1981 Düsseldorf—“We had breakfast with Joseph Beuys, he insisted that I come to his house and see his studio and the way he lives and have tea and cake, it was really nice. He gave me a work of art which was two bottles of effervescent water which ended up exploding in my suitcase and damaging everything I have, so I can’t open the box now, because I don’t know if it’s a work of art anymore or just broken bottles. So if he comes to New York I’ve got to get him to come sign the box because it’s just a real muck.”
Warhol first met Beuys in 1979 at an art opening in Düsseldorf, Germany. Mere moments after meeting Beuys, Warhol asked to photograph him. Perhaps because of the public setting, Warhol only took one shot of Beuys, rather than his typical multitude of poses per subject (like the Polaroids of artist Sandro Chia in the center case). The photograph of Beuys, which served as a “sketch,” became the basis for a series of screen print portraits with many variations. Some held only a single, monochromatic image of Beuys. Others, like this one, bear Warhol’s recognizable multiplicity of brightly-colored images. In a nod to Beuys’ own preferred materials, one of which was felt, Warhol covered this portrait of the artist with rayon flocking.
Warhol’s humorous diary entry from a later encounter with Beuys demonstrates both his respect for the artist and his openness regarding what constitutes finished work of art.
Sunday, March 8, 1981 Düsseldorf—“We had breakfast with Joseph Beuys, he insisted that I come to his house and see his studio and the way he lives and have tea and cake, it was really nice. He gave me a work of art which was two bottles of effervescent water which ended up exploding in my suitcase and damaging everything I have, so I can’t open the box now, because I don’t know if it’s a work of art anymore or just broken bottles. So if he comes to New York I’ve got to get him to come sign the box because it’s just a real muck.”
Credit Line
Gift of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Rights
© The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
Citation
Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987), “Boxes,” Michael C. Carlos Museum Collections Online, accessed December 22, 2024, https://digitalprojects.carlos.emory.edu/items/show/9226.
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