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Andy Warhol passed away on February 22, 1987. Even after his death, he remains one of the most important artists in the history of art. His name is synonym with Pop Art and contemporary arts in general. How did he manage to break the boundaries of high art and low art and become acceptable by pretty much everyone? Even when he used images of bean cans, people had no problems adding it to his portfolio. Warhol used for his art pretty much everything. From newspapers articles and a banana to photos of celebrities and cinema.

Besides being a great artist, Warhol also had great skills in networking. He was very observant and had great knowledge of the American society. He was documenting pretty much everything. From giant ads to the messy glamorous life of America and his trips around the country. He was very close to the public and everything that was going on. That gave him the opportunity to become very receptive, as it is also his work.

Soon after his graduation from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1949, he transformed himself into a prominent graphic designer. He worked for companies such Columbia Records, Glamour magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, NBC, Tiffany & Co., Vogue among others.

Working as a commercial designer helped him develop his medium and mix it with drawing and photography. Through his work, Warhol also developed his philosophy which he named it ‘The Essence of Nothing’. Avery good example of this is his Campbell’s soup cans. In an interview about the cans he claimed that he “wanted to paint nothing” and in the soup cans he found this same “nothing”.

Warhol created his art from his studio, named “The Factory”, situated on 231 East 47th Street, where he’s also done some experimental work in film and video, using his own camera. The early films of Warhol, made in the years between 1963- 1965 include “Sleep”, “Blow Job”, “Empire” and “Kiss”. Although his films were not as successful as his art, he still managed to sell some of them.

In ‘The Factory’, Warhol would spend most of his time. It was at this place where feminist author Valerie Solanas attempted to shot the artist in 1968. This event changed him and since then he became more distant and nervous towards other people.

After his death in 1987, Andy Warhol left behind a great collection of art pieces and a fascinating life. His contribution to contemporary art and life is undeniable to this day.

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