If you are looking for a way to create a room with a difference in your home, consider an Andy Warhol inspired room. The brightly colored pop art of Andy Warhol makes a real statement in any home, and it is a surefire way to breathe life into a design scheme that has fallen a little flat.
About Andy Warhol
The art of Andy Warhol is among the most recognized in the world, and his name is known to just about everyone. He was as much a social phenomenon as he was an artist, and his work continues to earn top dollar in art collecting circles to this day. His work is also some of the most imitated in the art world, so you don't have to fit a Warhol original into your budget to create an Andy Warhol inspired room.
Warhol's background is in commercial art, and that theme was never far from the pop art work he did. One of his first jobs was designing album covers for RCA Records in the 1950s, making him one of the first cover art designers in music history.
In the early 1960s, Warhol made the leap from doing commercial art to working as a professional artist doing gallery shows and personal commissions. His first show was actually in Los Angeles, but Warhol and the pop art movement he helped create soon adopted New York as its epicenter.
By the mid 1960s, Warhol began making the images that are most associated with him, like paintings of Campbell's soup cans, Coke bottles, and bright, multicolored images of current movie stars and musicians. He was interested in mass producing art in the same way that these companies mass produced their products, and so he began working on silk screens so he could recreate the same image over and over again. He received a great deal of criticism in the art community, as did his fellow pop artists, for bringing capitalist ideas into the art world.
During this time, Warhol also founded his famed New York Factory studio, which was a hang out and work station for various artists and musicians, as well as a long list of hangers on who wanted to be part of the scene. Many of Warhol's films were made during his Factory years.
Warhol died in 1982. The rights to his work are controlled by the Andy Warhol Foundation.
Create an Andy Warhol Inspired Room
The key to giving your room an Andy Warhol approved look is to go over the top with color and bold images. Warhol once famously said that he loved Hollywood because it is all plastic and that he loves plastic. Think of this gaudy, no holds barred mentality when designing your room. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Andy Warhol images are mass produced, and including some posters, paintings or silk screens of some icon Warhol images on your walls is a simple, fast and easy way to get the look.
- Warhol created cow themed wallpaper - a similar print in your home is a bold, Warhol-esque statement.
- Warhol loved using bright, primary colors in his artwork - use these colors on your walls, accessories and upholstery.
A word of warning about working with these themes - pop art was very brash, and it is not easily incorporated on a large scale in a home. Use a light hand when you are putting your Factory inspired room in place. A few pictures on the wall or a brightly colored rug and sofa might be all you need. Remember that bright colors will make small rooms feel even smaller, so take the dimension of your space into consideration.
More Andy Warhol Information
For more inspiration for your room and to see what Warhol materials are available, visit the Warhol Foundation website.
