ANDY WARHOL, BLACKGLAMA (JUDY GARLAND) (F. & S. II. 351), ADS SERIES, SCREEN PRINT IN COLOURS ON LENOX MUSEUM BOARD, 1985
Created two years before his death, Blackglama (Judy Garland) (F. & S. II. 351) is a print from Andy Warhol’s Ads series from 1985 that depicts images from American consumer culture in bright colours. Commissioned by Feldman Fine Arts, the series consists of 10 appropriated images of advertisements from fashion, movies, industry and technology,working to merge mass media imagery with fine art.
Blackglama (Judy Garland) (F. & S. II. 351) shows an image of Judy Garland as an elegant, mature woman, looking confidently to the viewer. Rendered in dark blue and pink against a black backdrop, Garland appears as though illuminated by bright lights. Taken from an advertising campaign for the fur company Blackglama, Warhol includes the text of the original image that reads: ‘What becomes a legend most?’. The text of the original advertisement works to both mock and celebrate the efficacy of advertising and the way in which Garland’s career relies on such name recognition.
Much like many of Warhol’s later works, this print displays a return to subjects that characterised his early career whilst also exploring a more organic, painterly printing method. Blackglama (Judy Garland) (F. & S. II. 351) exemplifies this in the artists use of gestural lines and heavy abstraction of the original image through colour and form. Though provoking similar themes as his Campbell's Soup Can series (1962), the Ads portfolio is far less machine-like in its aesthetic.
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ABOUT ANDY WARHOL
Andy Warhol (born Andrew Warhola) is a name synonymous with the celebrity culture and mass consumerism which coloured the boulevards of New York City in the Post World War II era. Born into a working class immigrant family in the urban landscape around the bustling metropolis, Warhol’s early life was characterised by a climb up the capitalist rungs of society.
The artist himself noted, “buying is more American than thinking, and I’m as American as they come”, this quote came to demarcate Warhol’s artistic practice as he embraced the commodification of the American Dream. The Pop artist’s beginnings in the business sector gave him the practical skill set to experiment with a more commercial approach to art throughout his career, particularly with regards to screen printing. Read more about Andy Warhol.
