Andy Warhol: The Complete Commissioned Posters, 1964-1987

A great coffee table book. One to dip into or use as a reference tool. Well researched and informative.

ALLES BESTENS

Sensationell!

As someone who is old enough to have been around when Warhol's art would pop up on randomrecord covers or he'd show up on a Branniff Airlines commercial, I do remember some of theseposters and the campaigns they represented in their original appearances. Warhol may havebrought the world of advertising art into his Fine Art initially, but in the 70's and 80's, he alsoreversed the equation and brought the aesthetic of Warhol Fine Art back into advertising, andit's still an important influence today although often in the hands of young media artists whowere not yet born when Warhol passed away.This book is essentially a Catalog Raisonne of posters created by Warhol on commission---what is and is not included in this work is clearly explained in the introduction. Only posters created by Warhol in their poster form (not posters made from Warhol album covers and from movie posters and from artworks, but NOT made explicitly as a poster by Warhol) are included, all beautifully reproduced in a gorgeous oversized hardcover volume and all featuring a comprehensive writeup on the backstory of the piece and of Warhol's creative process. It is a pleasure to thumb through the book once one has read the text and learned the facts. I keep my copy handy.The author did a magnificent job on Warhol's album covers in a previous book and later this year will have an oversized volume appearing doing a similar job with Warhol's Complete Commissioned Magazine work. Not only were these the works that paid the bills (along with the portraits) and allowed Warhol to do have the funds to do whatever he wanted in his private work, but they were also widely seen in their day (well, many of them were) and were the way Warhol reached audiences who'd never see a gallery show of his 70's and 80's work.We know now how prolific Warhol was in the 70's and 80's, and much of that work was unseen in the artist's lifetime, or a small part of a suite of works might have been exhibited overseas in a show few in America would ever hear about. There is literally much more Warhol art available to be seen and studied and enjoyed now than was during the artist's lifetime. We're all richer for that.This beautiful and important collection not only provides the definitive documentation of an important aspect of Warhol's work (and Warhol's business) over a 23 year period, but it's also a visually stunning and intellectually engaging collection with a superb factual text, and I can't imagine anyone even casually "into" Warhol not loving it. Considering the book's size and quality, it's also a perfect gift for that Warhol person in your life.No, these are not the most "important" works Warhol ever did, but the Warhol aesthetic and the Warhol method are clearly present in every work here, and if a Martian or someone stranded on the proverbial desert island, someone who'd never heard of Warhol and seen his influence in American and world culture, were presented with this volume, I think he/she/it would "get" what Warhol was about and would find the work both fascinating and pleasurable. What more could one ask?

This catalogue raisonne indexes fifty-two posters created by Andy Warhol from 1964 (midcareer) until his death in 1987. This opening line in the book describes what you will get and not get in the book. By focussing on commissioned posters you will not see posters announcing Warhol's exhibitions. But as the author's note he rarely had any hand in these type of promotional materials. Film posters are not included as well as posters simply reproducing Warhol's artwork. The focus is on posters and new artwork created specifically for a commissioned project. Each poster gets a detailed background essay and is reproduced in color. The reproductions are very good, paper is thick, and the binding is solid. There are relevant accompanying illustrations for each project as well. The book has some familiar images and a number of surprises. Definitely not the place to start for someone new to Warhol or looking for his fine art. But if you simply can't get enough Andy Warhol this is an enjoyable book and recommended.