Jane Kinsman’s look into the career of Andy Warhol is one of triumph in the face of adversity. In the midst of the American Pop Art movement of the 1950s and well into the 60s and 70s, Warhol emerged as a predominant source of masterpieces. He largely focused on celebrities of the era. They ranged from sex icon Marilyn Monroe to boxing legend Muhammad Ali. Interestingly enough however is that Warhol is more likely recognized for his work with soup cans then any of these famous figures.
Yet as Kinsman explains, Warhol was not always the face of American Pop Art. His struggles are well documented. Warhol began his career in the realm of Abstract Expressionism. Starting in 1960, Warhol focused on creating deadpan depictions of various cartoons. It was in these works that one can see Warhol’s “painterly, gestural manner”. This hands on brush to canvas style is rare in Warhol’s work and non-existent in most of his later works.
In starting out as a commercial artist, Warhol struggled to get by. Without recognition by his peers and society at large, Warhol found it difficult to find his work in large galleries: like in New York and Los Angeles. In his pleas to gallery owner Leo Castelli, Warhol discovered that works like Lichtenstein’s comic strip paintings were ideas and pieces he had done previously without any success.Instead of continuing this pattern of shadowing the work of successful artists of the time, Warhol began to seek out his own path. In his search for validation, Warhol contacted gallery owner Muriel Latow. It was Latow who encouraged Warhol to choose a subject that took place in every day life and was easily recognizable. Taking Latow’s advice, Warhol began his work with Campbell’s Soup cans.It was Andy Warhol’s work with Campbell’s Soup that launched his career and made the artist an icon. Artists, gallery owners, and society at large were taken aback by the sheer absurdity of making soup the focal point of a painting. Instead of being rebuked as he had in the past, Warhol was welcomed into the artist community with open arms. In fact, he even received an offer to host an exhibition for Irving Blum at the Feris Gallery in Los Angeles. The most notable piece of Warhol’s work with Campbell's Soup is the series Campbell Soup 1. Each can presents a different flavor yet adds to the repetition and almost assembly like manufacturing of the piece. Warhol would later go on to say in 1977 that the Campbell’s Soup pieces remained his favorite works. While critics pointed to these works as a reproduction of commercial products, we are able to look back in hindsight and appreciate the works for the pieces of art they really are.
