Warhol Andy, the greatest exponent of screen printing

Screen printing tells part of its history as an art form. In it we can mention a pioneer named Warhol Andy, the greatest exponent of screen printing. He was a prominent painting artist who is credited with being the founder of art movements for the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Warhol is called the father of Pop art, an artistic trend characterized by using images from the culture of the United States. He was also known as the best exponent of screen printing, which he used to make art. We are going to know a little more about this character and his impact on the entire screen printing.

Warhol Andy, The greatest exponent of screen printing

Without a doubt Andy Warhol Andy was a celebrated artist. This artist excelled in painting, film, sculpture, photography, printmaking, music, and of course, screen printing. In addition, he was recognized for his excellent career as an illustrator and one of the pioneers of pop art.

He is considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th century for all his works, many of which were revolutionary. It all started in 1950 when, thanks to an advertisement for shoes, he gained a reputation while still very young.

Short biography of Warhol Andy

Warhol was born in the United States in 1928 in a family of Slovak origin. He became known for his work as a filmmaker and visual artist, especially for being one of the greatest exponents of pop art. Andy was the promoter of different artistic figures in the 70s and 80s. He died in 1987.

Warhol Andy and his impact on all screen printing

It can be said that digital screen printing has a before and after our Andy. And it is certainly that this technique was known since 1907 with the presentation of a screen used for printing. But, it was in 1970 that screen printing had a greater recognition and this was thanks to Warhol.

To do a bit of history, it should be noted that John Pilsworth legalized a screen that was used to print with different functions. Thus he made public the new forms that were used for engraving. It was for this reason that by then, in 1915, the technique began to be known.

However, it was Warhol Andy who made certain paintings with shades that were extravagant. These began to attract so much attention not only for the screen printing, but for their contribution to the style of pop art.

The process used by Warhol Andy

When Warhol Andy began experimenting with screen printing in 1960, this technique was not widely used. This was a long process for him, which showed a lot of patience and also a vision for details. But, he also demonstrated the vision to quickly realize that, in the process, serial art could be produced.

That is why he took the opportunity to create serial letters in which he used different images. One of the first series was with a famous image depicting Marilyn Monroe. He was able to create multiple designs on the wallets using multiple versions of the same image.

Pop Art and screen printing

Certainly screen printing found similarities with pop art. For this reason, artists of the time took advantage of the coincidence to create a more original art using this method. For this reason, a new method was created within the artistic currents of the time.

However, it was Warhol Andy who, by uniting these two currents, gave a more personal theme to the style. Thus he became the most prominent artist in screen printing. And he was willing to do what was necessary to give the tonality that each work needed by applying color.

Warhol Andy would even go so far as to admit that screen printing was not hard work. He also stated that you did not have to be an expert in this technique to be able to create impactful works. With such enunciations he showed a rebellious attitude, which is why at some point some artists rejected him.

The most valuable silkscreen works in history

In the time since then, no such expensive designs have been known as Warhol’s. So while some people were not so sympathetic to this style, it cannot be denied that this artist proved to be very resourceful. The price of his works managed to exceed seventy million dollars.

Some examples of works with astonishing sums were the Elvis Presley painting that fetched an incredible thirty million dollars. But Warhol was very ingenious. He managed to expose his works in very different ways. He used this process that did not require extensive labor and turned out to be picturesque.

It cannot be denied that Warhol knew how to take advantage of the benefits of screen printing to produce unique works of his style. Also, I would take on this challenge to reproduce many images.

A very popular portrait

From an early age, Andy Warhol had manifested his passion for photography. And throughout his life he was always interested in famous personalities. He liked to take photos of famous people of the time, in order to make works that were destined to be famous. Andy knew how to recognize the key to success.

He kept many of the photographs he took when he was very young. And when he finally had the opportunity to make a career in film, he combined both artistic styles, photography and screen printing. This is how that famous portrait of Marilyn Monroe was born. This combination further demonstrated the ingenuity of the artist.

The picturesque racing BMW

In 1979 he received, from the prestigious car company BMW, a specimen of competition races to paint. This had already happened three years earlier with other artists for the BMW Art Cart project.

Unlike the others, Warhol Andy did not use the scale model but painted directly on the vehicle. Not only did he accomplish the screen printing task the same day, it took him only about 23 minutes to complete.

The famous Campbell’s soup cans

Warhol stood out in the first exhibition he attended, making a painting in which he portrayed the different varieties of Campbell’s soup. This was because for a long time he himself would consume these soups in his lunch.

This work could initially be sold for ten thousand dollars. But what is surprising is that more recently they reached the sum of six million dollars. 32 serigraphy canvases were used to carry out the work. Later, this famous soup would give its support to pop art and this helped a lot to the consecration of that style.

These were the beginnings of pop art in America. However, as there was talk of a mechanical process, this style had its detractors. Because it caused some annoyance to those who represented abstract art at that time. They valued details and craftsmanship values.

Other emblematic works of the artist

Warhol Andy was also known for his eagerness to make money. Using his popularity and the tool of screen printing, he made other works that were well known. In fact, it took screen printing prices to another level. Some of them are the following:

Self-portrait. He portrayed himself in a series of colorful self-portraits as an iconic Pop Art figure. Although he is also known for taking self-portraits with other techniques.

Race Riot. He made the reproduction of a photograph that represented the events that were taking place at the time. It was a series of quite provocative images in which the hypocrisy of a nation was transmitted and it was intervened with the colors of the national flag.

Warhol Andy’s contribution to screen printing online

There is no doubt that Warhol Andy was a provocative artist who generated controversy. But that does not hide the genius that he manifested by breaking with stereotypes of the time and giving the arts other criteria.

There are people who still underestimate his talent. But it was he who gifted the world with the genius of online screen printing that is used today. Therefore, it is enshrined as an icon. As people in love with design, we recognize him as an artist who knew how to give greater beauty to the art of printing and allowed us to have better screen printing online.