Andy Warhol Camouflage 1986 Synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas. 76 x 76 in. (193 x 193 cm). Stamped with Estate and Foundation seals and numbered “PA 85.040” on the reverse.
Provenance Gagosian Gallery, New York Exhibited New York, Gagosian Gallery, Andy Warhol Camouflage, November 7, 1998 – January 9, 1999 Literature B. Colacello and B. Richardson, Andy Warhol Camouflage, New York, 1999, plate no. 41, p. 89 (illustrated) Catalogue Essay The camouflage paintings began as an experiment in Warhol’s studio in the early 1980s. His assistant at the time, Jay Shriver, began to sample ways of pushing paint through camouflage-printed mesh. Ultimately Warhol caught on to his idea and used this basic method as the format for the paintings making up his famous Camouflage series. As with the Hammer and Sickle motif in 1977, Warhol once again took a symbol of State and institutional power (the 1977 version being the seal of Communist rule) and reinvented in within the context of Pop Art’s high-tech colors and mass-appeal. Without removing the original syntax of the camouflage, as the motif still maintains its original identity, Warhol transforms the design with new style and interpretation. “Camouflage is freightened with nationalistic messages. There are more than 350 camouflage patterns in the world. Each new nation looks upon the creation of a camouflage suit as a step towards independence as important as creating its own flag. Camouflage today is not only about environmental disguise, it is also a statement of national identity… The range in camouflage pattern and color is astonishing and, given the hundreds of inventive and appealing abstract designs, it is not surprising to learn that artists played a defining role in the development of military camouflage.” (B. Richardson, “Hiding in Plain Sight: Warhol’s Camouflage”, Andy Warhol Camouflage, New York, 1998, pp. 12-13). The artist was surely aware of camouflage’s historical impact and evolution when he selected the pattern. What is more, there is the connotation that an artist created the original design in its first place, thereby linking Warhol’s reuse of an established motif within the larger scope of his Pop Art methodology. Just as with the Campbell’s Soup label, Warhol reinvents an widely recognized emblem and through his colored manipulation strengthens its ties to contemporary art. The camouflage pattern was first recognized by naturalist and painter Abbott Handerson Thayer who in 1909 published his studies linking animal patterns to the act of disguise. British and American governments adapted Thayer’s findings in World War I military clothing, and in World War II the employment of camouflage evolved to become much more widespread, landing itself on ships and planes to deceive the enemy. Warhol, whose visual vocabulary on the art historical canons and precedents was on a level of near photographic memory, undoubtedly recalled in his mind that artists such as Ellsworth Kelly Arshille Gorky and Clyfford Sill designed patterns for the American military during World War II. The genius is his manipulation is that one almost overlooks the original intent of the camouflage and the long history it has had in securing political advantage through military advances. One is dazzled by the bold, day-glo tones and vastness of scale that Warhol employs with these canvases. It is important not to forget the original context of the motif, but Warhol flexes his muscles in reinforcing it with a new ‘Pop Art’ vigor. In the present lot, shades of orange and yellow are combined in an almost psychedelic fashion, the allure of the canvas lies not only in Warhol’s reinvestigation of the camouflage motif, but in his adaptation of bold, fresh colors. The artist recategorizes the classic theme within the contemporary art scene, placing it amongst the vein of painting occurring in the second half of the 1980s. Other artists at the time such as Peter Halley and Philip Taffe were simultaneously altering motifs and shapes from nature with artificial colors and stirring up ‘new’ meaning through their artwork. It is well documented that Andy Warhol’s personality was more or le
Andy Warhol Camouflage 1986 Synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas. 76 x 76 in. (193 x 193 cm). Stamped with Estate and Foundation seals and numbered “PA 85.040” on the reverse.
Provenance Gagosian Gallery, New York Exhibited New York, Gagosian Gallery, Andy Warhol Camouflage, November 7, 1998 – January 9, 1999 Literature B. Colacello and B. Richardson, Andy Warhol Camouflage, New York, 1999, plate no. 41, p. 89 (illustrated) Catalogue Essay The camouflage paintings began as an experiment in Warhol’s studio in the early 1980s. His assistant at the time, Jay Shriver, began to sample ways of pushing paint through camouflage-printed mesh. Ultimately Warhol caught on to his idea and used this basic method as the format for the paintings making up his famous Camouflage series. As with the Hammer and Sickle motif in 1977, Warhol once again took a symbol of State and institutional power (the 1977 version being the seal of Communist rule) and reinvented in within the context of Pop Art’s high-tech colors and mass-appeal. Without removing the original syntax of the camouflage, as the motif still maintains its original identity, Warhol transforms the design with new style and interpretation. “Camouflage is freightened with nationalistic messages. There are more than 350 camouflage patterns in the world. Each new nation looks upon the creation of a camouflage suit as a step towards independence as important as creating its own flag. Camouflage today is not only about environmental disguise, it is also a statement of national identity… The range in camouflage pattern and color is astonishing and, given the hundreds of inventive and appealing abstract designs, it is not surprising to learn that artists played a defining role in the development of military camouflage.” (B. Richardson, “Hiding in Plain Sight: Warhol’s Camouflage”, Andy Warhol Camouflage, New York, 1998, pp. 12-13). The artist was surely aware of camouflage’s historical impact and evolution when he selected the pattern. What is more, there is the connotation that an artist created the original design in its first place, thereby linking Warhol’s reuse of an established motif within the larger scope of his Pop Art methodology. Just as with the Campbell’s Soup label, Warhol reinvents an widely recognized emblem and through his colored manipulation strengthens its ties to contemporary art. The camouflage pattern was first recognized by naturalist and painter Abbott Handerson Thayer who in 1909 published his studies linking animal patterns to the act of disguise. British and American governments adapted Thayer’s findings in World War I military clothing, and in World War II the employment of camouflage evolved to become much more widespread, landing itself on ships and planes to deceive the enemy. Warhol, whose visual vocabulary on the art historical canons and precedents was on a level of near photographic memory, undoubtedly recalled in his mind that artists such as Ellsworth Kelly Arshille Gorky and Clyfford Sill designed patterns for the American military during World War II. The genius is his manipulation is that one almost overlooks the original intent of the camouflage and the long history it has had in securing political advantage through military advances. One is dazzled by the bold, day-glo tones and vastness of scale that Warhol employs with these canvases. It is important not to forget the original context of the motif, but Warhol flexes his muscles in reinforcing it with a new ‘Pop Art’ vigor. In the present lot, shades of orange and yellow are combined in an almost psychedelic fashion, the allure of the canvas lies not only in Warhol’s reinvestigation of the camouflage motif, but in his adaptation of bold, fresh colors. The artist recategorizes the classic theme within the contemporary art scene, placing it amongst the vein of painting occurring in the second half of the 1980s. Other artists at the time such as Peter Halley and Philip Taffe were simultaneously altering motifs and shapes from nature with artificial colors and stirring up ‘new’ meaning through their artwork. It is well documented that Andy Warhol’s personality was more or le
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
