Module 5

"Campbell Soup Cans"
Medium: Synthetic polymer paint
Created: 1962
Scale: N/A

"The Last Supper"
Created: 1986
Medium: Synthetic polymer and silkscreen ink on canvas
Scale: N/A

"Dentures/Keep Frozen"
Created: 1985
Medium: Synthetic polymer, screenprint, and collage on cardboard
Size: 53 1/4 x 79 3/8 inches

"The Velvet Underground Album Cover"
Created: 1967
Medium: screenprint in colors with collage, on wove paper applied to drawing board
Size: N/A

"Make Him Want You"
Created: 1961
Medium: Wax crayon and oil paint on linen
Size: N/A

Andy Warhol Museum 

Pittsburgh

1. The painting that had the largest impression on me isn’t even a painting, called “Make 

Him Want You”, this piece made me think of dissatisfaction in body image of a woman, nothing is good enough. As a woman seeing this painting clearly was made to evoke a response in women, you strive to want to be good for anyone or make anyone want you, instead, love yourself and don’t put up a front. The woman in the piece is smiling which could be a front for how she is actually feeling. “The Last Supper” also evoked a response in me, the words “Be Somebody with a body” show how Warhol did have clear insecurities as the man is rather fit and buff. This piece being neon and under purple light drew me to it because it was unlike traditional paintings in a museum. 

2. The piece I feel the largest connection with is “Make Him Want You” because the other ones I showcased have more on the surface meanings and are clearly not as deep. It projects human beings and I can connect with that piece rather than the “Campbell Soup Can” because as a woman the piece showcases exactly what strong women wouldn’t do and that is change yourself for a man. 

3. The piece I would love to know more about is definitely “Dentures/Keep Frozen”, this piece has a lot going on in it and a lot to analyze and dissect. The words “Repent and sin no more!” are highlighted in white over black brings religion into the mix. In the lower-left corner, you can see “Men over 40 how you can go from this to this” revealing more of the perfect body insecurity Warhol showcased. The piece isn’t cohesive though, in the fact that it takes on a collage feel and is all over the place, that’s why I would like to know more about it. I would like to know more about the pop-art piece “Skulls” because it is rather simple but I feel like it could have an underlying message to it, the bright colors are the opposite of death and skulls so it is definitely interesting. 

"Skulls"
Created: 1977
Medium: Acrylic and silkscreen on canvas
Size: 72 x 80 in.

“More Human Than Human” Questions

Interesting facts

• 5000 B.C. Egyptians became the first full civilization and used images of the human body in their copious amounts of spiritual tomb art. The human body was a centerpiece for the pharaohs, the bodies were actually proportionate while still being unrealistic in the way that the chest was shown front on, the face was shown in profile, the body was wholly two-dimensional, the arms were wanted to be shown mid-action, legs and feet were sideways in an unrealistic fashion. 

Why is our modern world dominated by images of the body that are unrealistic?

• In the past decade, social media is the main reason why images of the body are unrealistic. People can edit their pictures, which is a form of art, photography, meaning that people can showcase themselves in ways that are totally misleading to their real-life selves. I think with social media people also think their body can look better no matter how thin, toned, and chiseled they are and that’s deep-rooted in history with sculptures and paintings of misleading bodily expectations. Models model clothes because their bodies are ideal meaning the pieces they wear will sell better. At least as a society in 2020 we have seen more realistic body expectations as plus-size women model underwear, people in wheelchairs model items, and this is how things should be.