Imagine the excruciating moment when a child pausing in front of your work in an exhibition and simply saying “That isn’t art, I could do that!” Not considering the plethora of factors that weave themselves into that one - seemingly simple - work of art, the child may easily think that some of the most famous works of art of the 21st century can be effortlessly recreated. While the abstract technique of modern artist may seem elementary to some, Andy Warhol is a prime example of an artist who had something to say and said it in such a simple and profound way that millions of viewers can discover what his work really conveys. In the way that an archetype, discussed by Carl Jung, can be so modest while conveying many messages, is directly similar
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By using the archetype of a circle in context such as literature, art, and religion, it can be seen as a symbol of wholeness, nurturing, focus, etc. Like an archetype, the sense of the electric chair wouldn’t be as powerful if it was represented by just one ordinary photograph. Warhol uses smooth techniques, two of the most notable being his use of color and repetition, in his work to make his subject attract attention (Fig. 1 Orange Disaster). Commenting on Warhol’s method in all of the electric chair pieces, Chicago based artist Philip Hartigan says, “There is the blank stare of the artist. The knowledge that he reproduced the same image many more times. In singles, multiples, and different colors, so that any taint of horror gets rinsed out” (Hartigan). Warhol repeats and recolors the image, without adding words or symbols, so many times that the viewer forgets Warhol’s technique. What is left is a solemn electric chair alone in a death chamber from which the viewer must create their own interpretation - in the same way that an archetype is left up for personal interpretation. It is important to note that its not just one person who propels an object into an archetype, but it is by many people adapting it in many different scenarios that it becomes an archetype. For example, in addition to Warhol’s use of the chair, but not specifically an electric chair, there is also the use of symbolic chairs in the dramatic literature of Steven Dietz’s play Lonely Planet. The main character in Dietz’s play begins to collect the used chairs of individuals that have passed away in the AIDS epidemic - again taking the chair out of its comforting context while adding credibility to its use as an
By using the archetype of a circle in context such as literature, art, and religion, it can be seen as a symbol of wholeness, nurturing, focus, etc. Like an archetype, the sense of the electric chair wouldn’t be as powerful if it was represented by just one ordinary photograph. Warhol uses smooth techniques, two of the most notable being his use of color and repetition, in his work to make his subject attract attention (Fig. 1 Orange Disaster). Commenting on Warhol’s method in all of the electric chair pieces, Chicago based artist Philip Hartigan says, “There is the blank stare of the artist. The knowledge that he reproduced the same image many more times. In singles, multiples, and different colors, so that any taint of horror gets rinsed out” (Hartigan). Warhol repeats and recolors the image, without adding words or symbols, so many times that the viewer forgets Warhol’s technique. What is left is a solemn electric chair alone in a death chamber from which the viewer must create their own interpretation - in the same way that an archetype is left up for personal interpretation. It is important to note that its not just one person who propels an object into an archetype, but it is by many people adapting it in many different scenarios that it becomes an archetype. For example, in addition to Warhol’s use of the chair, but not specifically an electric chair, there is also the use of symbolic chairs in the dramatic literature of Steven Dietz’s play Lonely Planet. The main character in Dietz’s play begins to collect the used chairs of individuals that have passed away in the AIDS epidemic - again taking the chair out of its comforting context while adding credibility to its use as an