artist study

ANDY WARHOL 'S BRILLO BOX : AN ARTIST STUDY

Postmodernism , as a school of thought , influenced the very many ways in and through which we view the world , life and even reality . Such influence manifests itself in diverse areas of human interests , even the sciences . The most prominent influence of postmodern thought though may be seen in the area of art . To a certain extent , postmodern thought is liberating in the sense that it challenges what we mean by art and what counts as an artwork

Against orthodox art , Andy Warhol explores the

idea that artworks may be physically indistinguishable from everyday artifacts . An example of such an artwork is Warhol 's Brillo Box of 1965 which , according to art critic Arthur Danto , is a manifestation of Warhol 's philosophical intelligence . Danto wrote the following

I believe it was among Warhol 's chief philosophical contributions to the history of art that he brought artistic practice to a level of philosophical self-consciousness never before attained . [Danto 1975 , 63]

The above passage illustrates that Danto considers Warhol 's Brillo Box as a philosophical work of art . It is thus imperative that we discuss in detail what is it with this object that makes it qualify as an artwork More so , if it is considered , philosophical

This Warhol piece is consisted of a wooden box which is painted with the colors red , white , and blue . Warhol 's use of silkscreen paint is crucial in to achieve the kind of texture that he intends to materialize . By using silkscreen paint , the Brillo Box creates a texture which makes it appear identical to the cardboard cartons in which boxes of Brillo pads were transported to the grocery stores in the 1960s

Upon seeing the artwork , the question which came to my mind has something to do with how such an ordinary object may be classified by the art world and art critics as a work of art . Like Carl Plantinga , it seems to me that Warhol 's Brillo Box may change how we see all art was made just when the museums expanded . What makes the Brillo Box an artwork and those boxes which contain those Brillo pads not ? These are important questions which , may be explained by going through the philosophical underpinnings of postmodern and popular art which immediately falls under art criticism and aesthetic theory

As stated at the onset of this , postmodern thought challenges the ways in and through which we view the world , life and reality . Warhol 's work applies this thought to art . The Brillo Box exhibits the intentionality of the artist which may be called the artwork 's statement . This is to say that ordinary objects may be used by an artist to make a statement . Their being works of art then does not stem from their very ontology or being but on the intention provided for by the artist when the artist makes use of these ordinary , everyday objects to make a statement or to mean something...