Dimensions: 12.7 x 18 cm
Despite his passing more than thirty years ago Andy Warhol remains one of the most influential artists of our time, relevant to this day as his distinctive aesthetic and working methods continue setting design, marketing, and cultural trends.
Warhol's transdisciplinary work and ideas contributed greatly to shaping the notion of art as a commodity which remains relevant both within art theory and also within the contemporary art world as a whole. Warhol challenged how art is thought of, produced, reproduced, distributed, and promoted. A significant element of this involved commodifying both his art and himself as he metamorphosed into one of the first artists to be not only a celebrity but also a brand. Was Warhol's complex commodification process his longest-running performance?
The text explores the motivations and implications behind Warhol's views on art as a commodity and considers how they continue to impact contemporary art practices. Warhol's conscious decision to turn the marketplace and his publicity machine into an artistic medium in its own right has strongly influenced a multitude of subsequent artists; not only within the confines of the traditional art world, but also far beyond.
