ANDY WARHOL, MAO (F. & S. II.92), MAO SERIES, SIGNED SCREEN PRINT, 1972
Fascinated by the mechanism of fame in popular culture, Andy Warhol creates a 1970s Pop Art icon out of the Chinese communist leader Chairman Mao in his print Mao (F. & S. II.92) from his famous Mao series (1972). Appropriating the official imagery of the Chairman,primarily used as a propaganda tool in Maoist China, Warhol manipulates the original photograph with unlikely colours to make an astute political statement amidst America’s involvement in the Cold War.
In this iteration of Warhol’s print, Mao’s face is depicted in a sickly yellow and his lips are turquoise green working to make a spectacle of the Chinese statesman without him knowing. By repeating his image many times over the course of a screen print series, Warhol portrays Mao as a commodity to be dispersed as a piece of mass-media in capitalist America.
Warhol explores a multitude of colour variations across the series to render each print unique,thus symbolically opposing the ideals of communism that Mao wished to uphold. Taking this point further, Warhol adds gestural dark lines to each print as a display of individualism, reminiscent of the American Abstract Expressionists. Deliberately misaligning the photographic image with the coloured ink layered on top, Warhol creates a jarring visual effect that makes this image both humorous and menacing.
Find out more about Mao by Andy Warhol.
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.
