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拍品專文
I'm doing shoes because I'm going back to my roots. In fact, I think I should do nothing but shoes from now on. Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol’s ability to encapsulate the highs and lows of American consumerism ran alongside his insightful commentary on his own personal connections to the world of celebrity and popular culture. Diamond Dust Shoes is an alluring example of his ability to imbue mass media techniques with a poignant depth. His early career as a fashion illustrator set the stage for later endeavors that expanded outward and blurred the lines between consumer culture and art historical tradition. His first professional commission as an artist was drawing shoes for Glamour magazine in the 1940s, and he spent time in the following decade working for shoe brands to much acclaim. It was there that Warhol developed a lifelong obsession and appreciation for women’s shoes. This present work is an early example of a series of canvases that he began in 1980. “I'm doing shoes because I'm going back to my roots,” he noted later on. “In fact, I think I should do nothing but shoes from now on” (A. Warhol quoted in P. Hackett, (ed.), The Andy Warhol Diaries, New York, 1989, p. 306). Homing in on this particular object and symbolism shows how important the imagery from his early career, as well as his personal biography, remained throughout the decades.
This striking canvas makes use of Warhol’s signature screen-printing techniques which marry photographic reproduction with saturated areas of color and deep black. Like a Xerox copy with the contrast turned up, expansive swathes of baby blue, crimson, slate, primrose, sea green and pastel yellow boldly represent each shoe, jumping out at the view with a graphic immediacy.
Here Warhol eschews traditional compositional techniques in favor of a more candid image that could have very well been cut from a magazine advertisement. The edges of the canvas frame a line of five central shoes with varying heel heights while other footwear spills off the border. Festooned with diamond dust, the work sparkles with a visual richness that points toward the luxurious goods pictured as well as the lifestyles that could afford such accouterments. As with many of his paintings, the repetition on view here was common throughout his career and plays directly with the notion of mass production and seriality.
Andy created the Diamond Dust Shoe paintings just as the disco, lamé, and stilettos of Studio 54 had captured the imagination of the Manhattan glitterati. Andy, who had been in the vanguard of the New York club scene since the early 60's, once again reflected the times he was living in through his paintings. Vincent Freemont
In the cultural consciousness, diamonds are often seen as a representation of ever-lasting love and eternity, their natural durability standing in as a symbol of strong adoration and commitment. With the Diamond Dust Shoes, Warhol subverts this feeling as the sparkly coating becomes a representation of superficial beauty and fleetingly glamorous lifestyles of the celebrity elite. "Andy created the Diamond Dust Shoe paintings just as the disco, lamé, and stilettos of Studio 54 had captured the imagination of the Manhattan glitterati. Andy, who had been in the vanguard of the New York club scene since the early 60's, once again reflected the times he was living in through his paintings" (V. Fremont, Diamond Dust Shoes, exh. cat., Gagosian Gallery, New York, 1999, pp. 8-9). Foreshadowing the decade of excess that the 1980s would come to symbolize, these images of consumer goods were elevated to iconic status by the artist’s crystalline application.
The Diamond Dust Shoes series kicked off a resurgent decade for Warhol as he found himself befriending, mentoring, and collaborating with the rising stars of the New York art world like Jean-Michel Basquiat. After rising to prominence in the 1960s with the Factory and his milieu of colorful characters, he took a step back to grow and reflect as an artist after facing a near-death experience when he was shot by Valerie Solanas in 1968. Warhol’s work became more introspective as he parted the veil of cult status and celebrity to reveal the heart of his practice: his own humanity and his place within the world. Though early works like Campbell’s Soup Cans (1962) and his portraits of famous figures often bring up conversations about American consumer culture at large, his entire oeuvre can be viewed with a more personal perspective. "I feel I represent the U.S. in my art,” he intoned, “but I'm not a social critic. I just paint those things in my paintings because those are the things I know best” (A. Warhol, quoted in K. Goldsmith, et al, I'll be Your Mirror, The Selected Andy Warhol Interviews, 1962-1987, New York, 2004, p. 88). The paintings, as well as the recognizable subject matter, resonate so well with a large audience because we see ourselves in them and thus connect directly to the artist through our shared experience of popular culture. In this way, Diamond Dust Shoes is both an image of rampant consumerism and superficial glitz as well as an autobiographical composition that connects Warhol’s last decade with his first foray into the art world.
Andy Warhol’s ability to encapsulate the highs and lows of American consumerism ran alongside his insightful commentary on his own personal connections to the world of celebrity and popular culture. Diamond Dust Shoes is an alluring example of his ability to imbue mass media techniques with a poignant depth. His early career as a fashion illustrator set the stage for later endeavors that expanded outward and blurred the lines between consumer culture and art historical tradition. His first professional commission as an artist was drawing shoes for Glamour magazine in the 1940s, and he spent time in the following decade working for shoe brands to much acclaim. It was there that Warhol developed a lifelong obsession and appreciation for women’s shoes. This present work is an early example of a series of canvases that he began in 1980. “I'm doing shoes because I'm going back to my roots,” he noted later on. “In fact, I think I should do nothing but shoes from now on” (A. Warhol quoted in P. Hackett, (ed.), The Andy Warhol Diaries, New York, 1989, p. 306). Homing in on this particular object and symbolism shows how important the imagery from his early career, as well as his personal biography, remained throughout the decades.
This striking canvas makes use of Warhol’s signature screen-printing techniques which marry photographic reproduction with saturated areas of color and deep black. Like a Xerox copy with the contrast turned up, expansive swathes of baby blue, crimson, slate, primrose, sea green and pastel yellow boldly represent each shoe, jumping out at the view with a graphic immediacy.
Here Warhol eschews traditional compositional techniques in favor of a more candid image that could have very well been cut from a magazine advertisement. The edges of the canvas frame a line of five central shoes with varying heel heights while other footwear spills off the border. Festooned with diamond dust, the work sparkles with a visual richness that points toward the luxurious goods pictured as well as the lifestyles that could afford such accouterments. As with many of his paintings, the repetition on view here was common throughout his career and plays directly with the notion of mass production and seriality.
Andy created the Diamond Dust Shoe paintings just as the disco, lamé, and stilettos of Studio 54 had captured the imagination of the Manhattan glitterati. Andy, who had been in the vanguard of the New York club scene since the early 60's, once again reflected the times he was living in through his paintings. Vincent Freemont
In the cultural consciousness, diamonds are often seen as a representation of ever-lasting love and eternity, their natural durability standing in as a symbol of strong adoration and commitment. With the Diamond Dust Shoes, Warhol subverts this feeling as the sparkly coating becomes a representation of superficial beauty and fleetingly glamorous lifestyles of the celebrity elite. "Andy created the Diamond Dust Shoe paintings just as the disco, lamé, and stilettos of Studio 54 had captured the imagination of the Manhattan glitterati. Andy, who had been in the vanguard of the New York club scene since the early 60's, once again reflected the times he was living in through his paintings" (V. Fremont, Diamond Dust Shoes, exh. cat., Gagosian Gallery, New York, 1999, pp. 8-9). Foreshadowing the decade of excess that the 1980s would come to symbolize, these images of consumer goods were elevated to iconic status by the artist’s crystalline application.
The Diamond Dust Shoes series kicked off a resurgent decade for Warhol as he found himself befriending, mentoring, and collaborating with the rising stars of the New York art world like Jean-Michel Basquiat. After rising to prominence in the 1960s with the Factory and his milieu of colorful characters, he took a step back to grow and reflect as an artist after facing a near-death experience when he was shot by Valerie Solanas in 1968. Warhol’s work became more introspective as he parted the veil of cult status and celebrity to reveal the heart of his practice: his own humanity and his place within the world. Though early works like Campbell’s Soup Cans (1962) and his portraits of famous figures often bring up conversations about American consumer culture at large, his entire oeuvre can be viewed with a more personal perspective. "I feel I represent the U.S. in my art,” he intoned, “but I'm not a social critic. I just paint those things in my paintings because those are the things I know best” (A. Warhol, quoted in K. Goldsmith, et al, I'll be Your Mirror, The Selected Andy Warhol Interviews, 1962-1987, New York, 2004, p. 88). The paintings, as well as the recognizable subject matter, resonate so well with a large audience because we see ourselves in them and thus connect directly to the artist through our shared experience of popular culture. In this way, Diamond Dust Shoes is both an image of rampant consumerism and superficial glitz as well as an autobiographical composition that connects Warhol’s last decade with his first foray into the art world.