Andy Warhol

(1928 - 1987)

This Edition: 125/190. Signed and numered in pencil - lower right. Framed.
Printer: Rupert Jasen Smith, New York.
Publisher: Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., New York. 
Catalogue Raisonné: Feldman & Schellmann II.359: APPLE

 Ads marked a return for Andy Warhol to central themes in his oeuvre, which included advertising and consumerism. In the series, Warhol presented each image as a noticeable appropriation of a corporate logo and product envisioned within the frame of contemporary pop culture. The series is stylistically similar to previous works where Warhol furthered his interest in the world of business and art - or rather, what he called "business art".

Curator Joseph D. Ketner observed that in Ads, Warhol << scanned his past for Pop-styled images culled from newspapers and magazines, which seemed to represent poignant signs of current mass culture and also issues of personal significance >>.

The selection of images Warhol appropriated for his Ads series embodies some of the most powerful corporations in America, such as Mobilgas, Paramount Pictures, Disney, and Apple Macintosh. While others, such as Volkswagen, Chanel and Blackglama, represent some of the best designs and marketing strategies in advertising history.

Toward the end of his career, Warhol was enthusiastic about computers and embraced the technology. He was introduced to the computer by none other than Steve Jobs, who brought a Macintosh computer to the 9th birthday of Sean Lennon, son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. At first, Warhol and Keith Haring - who was also in attendance - watched as Jobs Sean how to work the machine. After a while, Warhol took his place in front of the Mac while Jobs explained how to use the mouse. After a while Warhol used the pencil tool to draw, << Look! Keith! >> he exclaimed to Haring, << I drew a circle! >>. The introduction of creating art with computers seemed to have impressed Warhol that several months later he purchased an Amiga 1000 computer in 1986. Using the ProPaint programmed, he began experimenting with various color variations in images that he captured. Asked what he liked most about doing art on the computer, Warhol stated that << I like it because it looks like my work >>.

By combining the consumer brands and advertising images with his selection of vibrant colors and distinctive off-registered line drawing, Warhol presented his images with slick surfaces and candy-coated renderings frozen in Technicolor.