Andy Warhol was an American artist and a central figure in the movement known as Pop art. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became famous worldwide for his work as a painter, an avant-garde filmmaker, a record producer, an author, and a public figure known for his membership in wildly diverse social circles that included bohemian street people, distinguished intellectuals, Hollywood celebrities and wealthy aristocrats. A controversial figure during his lifetime (his work was often derided by critics as a hoax, or "put-on"), Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books, feature and documentary films since his death in 1987.
It was during the 1960s that Warhol began to make paintings of famous American products such as "Campbell's Soup Cans" from the Campbell Soup Company and Coca-Cola, as well as paintings of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Troy Donahue, and Elizabeth Taylor. He founded The Factory, his studio during these years and gathered around himself a wide range of artists, writers, musicians, and underground celebrities. He switched to silkscreen prints, which he produced serially, seeking not only to make art of mass-produced items but to mass produce the art itself. By minimizing the role of his own hand in the production of his work and declaring that he wanted to be "a machine," Warhol sparked a revolution in art. His work quickly became very controversial and popular.
Compared to the success and scandal of Warhol's work in the 1960s, the 1970s would prove a much quieter decade. This period, however, saw Warhol becoming more entrepreneurial. According to Bob Colacello, Warhol devoted much of his time to rounding up new, rich patrons for portrait commissions —including Mick Jagger, Liza Minnelli, John Lennon, Diana Ross, Brigitte Bardot, and Michael Jackson. Warhol's famous portrait of Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong was created in 1973. He also founded, with Gerard Malanga, Interview magazine, and published The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (1975). In this book, he presents his ideas on the nature of art: "Making money is art, and working is art and good business is the best art."
Warhol had a re-emergence of critical and financial success in the 1980s, partially due to his affiliation and friendships with a number of prolific younger artists, who were dominating the "bull market" of '80s New York art: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Julian Schnabel, David Salle and the so-called Neo-Expressionists, as well as Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi and members of the Transavantguardia movement, which had become influential.
Warhol also had an appreciation for intense Hollywood glamour. He once said: "I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They're so beautiful. Everything's plastic, but I love plastic. I want to be plastic."
Dustin Pittman has been a professional photographer for nearly 40 years. His portraits and fashion shoots have appeared in hundreds of publications, from Rolling Stone to Vogue. He was the official house photographer during the 1980s for W and Women's Wear Daily. His first front-cover exclusive for LIFE featured Darryl Hannah in and out of the water to promote her first movie, Splash. PIttman was privileged to photograph "the most expensive fashion shoot in history," working with 80 models for a Calvin Klein fashion shoot. Andy Warhol has characterized him as "one of the most beautiful and talented photographers in the world." He has photographed everyone from Gloria Swanson to Marc Jacobs and roamed the nooks and crannies of New York clubs such as Studio 54, Paradise Garage, Mudd Club, Area, Danceateria, and CBGB's, as well as photographing hundreds of New York historical events. His photography has been exhibited worldwide, including solo and group shows in New York, Paris, London, Japan, and China. He presently lives and works in New York.
