Adman: Warhol Before Pop

words by ben stephens

It’s the early 1950’s, New York is the background and the advertising industry is about to boom.

Young Andrew Warhola (his real last name), has just finished university in Pittsburgh and has moved to the big apple to take a role at a magazine as an illustrator.

Very early Andy Warhol (in fact painting 002 in his catalogue raisonné), "Make him want you" from 1961. Coming to @artgalleryofnsw from Saturday in "Adman: Warhol before pop" along with a large body of 1950s work from the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. @thewarholmuseum #andywarhol #warholbeforepop #popart #illustrations #advertising #madisonavenue #sydney #warholbeforepop

A post shared by AGNSW Director in Sydney (@michaelbrandsydney) on Feb 22, 2017 at 3:05am PST

At this point, Warhol was pumping out pieces of advertising for washing detergents and other less interesting items for the household. Rather nauseating stuff, though it was the process and the amount of time he would spend with each piece that separated him from the rest.

You see, Ando was an early innovator and used silkscreen printing, mixed with his signature blot style. As the record industry began to take hold with the uptake of vinyl, RCA Records hired Warhola to design album covers and promo pieces for artists.

This work of Andy’s rarely sees the light of day; usually blocked by tins of Campbell’s soup and Marilyn’s reproduced face. But thankfully the team at Art Gallery NSW and The Andy Warhol Museum have joined forces to bring the Adman: Warhol Before Pop exhibition to Sydney.

Showing off the early years of Warhol, the exhibition shines a light on his short but creative advertising career. Adman includes over  300 pieces of work by the original hipster, from photographs to recreated store window displays.

Running until May 28, all tickets are dated and timed to keep the exhibition flowing, so be sure to book in advance to avoid disappointment. Grab those HERE.

In conjunction with Sydney’s LGBTQI Mardi Gras festival, there will be a Queer Thinking symposium: Queer Warhol. Looking at how Warhol and his work helped shape the art work coming from the queer community today.

A post shared by Pure Kimchi Princess (@tracyy__jung) on Feb 21, 2017 at 10:43pm PST