12. Some Men Need Help [cca. 1982]

A distinctive figure in the visual arts space of the second half of the 20th century, Andy Warhol was the epicenter of the cultural movement in New York, managing to create an autonomous identity, full of verve. His artistic work focuses on exploring the relationship between striking advertisements and the life of celebrities in his time, thus laying the foundations of the pop-art movement. Warhol became a notorious personality through the enigmatic image he created over the years. The beginning of the 1960s marks the incipient phase of his artistic journey, Warhol beginning to develop his style, which would become known as "pop art". Warhol takes elements well-known from the mass commercial world and incorporates them into his art, moving away completely from abstractization. The work that would consecrate Warhol in art history reveals the United States' preference for promoting a universal myth based on innovative advertisements and the power of advertising. Thus, his cycles of works embodying Coca-Cola bottles or Campbell's soups show their wide recognition. His first works were done manually, often traced following a pattern to facilitate the impression that they were mechanically made. In 1962, Warhol began to work more with ink, collage techniques, and silkscreen, which would become established methods for his work. Through these compositional choices, Andy Warhol addressed issues such as fame, death, decline, and consumerism, creating a world that embodies the essence of the "American dream" myth. The series of works titled "Some Men Need Help", made during the 1980s, were created for a show, which followed the story of two men struggling with alcoholism. The poster created by Warhol features a silkscreen made from an advertising photograph of the two actors. The work made with silkscreen technique features characteristic features of Warhol's works from the 1980s. The artist combined blocks of color that, due to their irregularity and the fact that they exceed the image contour, appear to be made in the collage technique.

Dimensions

width 102 cm, height 101 cm

Description

silkscreen and collage on paper glued to cardboard

Lot.notes

On the back, the stamps "The Estate of Andy Warhol" and "The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc."; unique identification number, given by the Andy Warhol Foundation, in pencil, "87.018"

Dating

cca. 1982

PROVENANCE

Christie's auction, United States of America, 04.03.2013, lot 60.

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