Andy Warhol: The Pop Artist’s Astonishing Influence On Modern Culture

Andy Warhol may not have seen the dawn of the 21st Century, but the famous artist’s influence can still be seen in everything from the Muppets to Donald Trump.

Muses and partners

Hulk Hogan: A huge wrestling fan, Warhol unintentionally roamed backstage after a match between Hulk Hogan and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life,” he said. 

Edie Sedgwick: After Sedgwick moved to New York, Warhol made her a movie star, but a drug overdose sadly ended her life when she was just 28 years old.

The Rolling Stones: Andy Warhol designed the cover of 1971’s Sticky Fingers. Early versions highlighted an actual zip, a design modernization that failed to catch on.

Robert Mapplethorpe: Back in the 80s, Warhol and Mapplethorpe created a series of portraits of each other.

Prince: Inspired by Prince’s earliest New York shows in 1980, Warhol designed Orange Prince (1984), a series of a dozen bright portraits of the pint-sized polymath.

Frenemies

The Velvet Underground: “I’d never seen Andy angry, but I did that day,” recounted Lou Reed following his decision to move on from Warhol who had managed, produced, and art-directed the band.

Salvador Dalí: In 1964, Dalí asked Warhol to meet him at a hotel. Warhol wore an Inca headdress and nervously drank wine with a deafening Opera playing in the background. Overwhelmed, poor Andy finally decided to flee.

Andy Warhol: The Pop Artists Astonishing Influence On Modern Culture

David Bowie: Warhol met Bowie in 1971 when the latter performed a mime for the perplexed artist. Bowie handed him a copy of Hunky Dory with a tribute designed just for Andy, but for some reason, the pop artist hated it.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: According to Interview editor Glenn O’Brien, “Andy loved Jean-Michel like a son almost,” but the two artists fell out after their joint 1985 show Paintings miserably failed.

Self-proclaimed Successors 

Kanye West: “I am Warhol. I am the number one most impactful artist of our generation,” declared West in 2013

Jay-Z: “I’m a work of art / I’m a Warhol already,” sang Jay-Z in his 2009 single, “Already Home.”

Andy Warhol: The Pop Artists Astonishing Influence On Modern Culture

Tyler, the Creator: The cover of Tyler’s Goblin album alludes to Warhol’s poster for his 1971 movie Pork. 

Banksy: In his Banksy v Warhol 2007 exhibition, Banksy recreated Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe screenprints, but with Kate Moss.

Fashion fans

Versace: Versace’s 1991 collection featured supermodel Naomi Campbell walking the runway in a dress printed with Warhol’s Marilyn prints.

Virgil Abloh: The artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear line considers Warhol a major influence. 

Calvin Klein: In 2017, CK inked a licensing deal with the Warhol Foundation. 

Business partners?

Andy Warhol: The Pop Artists Astonishing Influence On Modern Culture

In April 1981, DJT proposed an official partnership, with Warhol creating paintings of Trump Tower. But the agreement turned sour when Trump refused to buy the diamond-dust covered paintings because they weren’t color-coordinated. 

Accidental admirers

Andy Warhol: The Pop Artists Astonishing Influence On Modern Culture

Campbell’s: Warhol designed Campbell’s soup can prints, and as a favor, the latter produced the Souper Dress, a promotional offer where presenting $1 and two coupons could get you a paper dress printed with the artist’s artwork. 

The Muppets: Kermit appeared as Warhol in Zink magazine, then the 2019 Sesame Street Road Trip tour featured Big Bird posing at the Warhol Museum.

Jeremy Deller: Conceptual artist Deller spent two weeks at the Factory observing Warhol and found the artist had a penchant for watching Benny Hill on mute while playing Roxy Music.

Unplanned consequences

The origin of selfies: Warhol’s first self-portrait in 1963 saw him transforming a simple photo booth picture into a blue silkscreen print, a clear message that millennials didn’t create selfies.

Andy Warhol: The Pop Artists Astonishing Influence On Modern Culture

A running joke: In Working Girl, Sigourney Weaver’s character owns a set of Warhol-inspired images of herself. Similar visual gags appear in Zoolander, Dreamgirls, and Desperate Housewives.

Reality-TV: Andy Warhol was the first artist to recognize the immense public interest in watching people do nothing. His movies Kiss, Sleep, and Eat document ordinary activities with a fixed camera for up to five hours at a time.