Abstract
Andy Warhol is Jean Baudrillard's favorite contemporary artist. In Baudrillard's opinion, Warhol was a great transitional figure who has opened a new chapter in the history of art by initiating the trend of commodity fetishism and laying foundations for artistic modernity. He dispelled abstractionism in contemporary art by promoting figurative expressions, established the ready-made style of art, and normalized aesthetic practice in a broader sense. While eliminating the differences between original works and duplications, Warhol also profoundly changed the thinking model and aesthetic trend of artistic creation. He was well versed in creating meaning from meaninglessness, discovering prominence from mediocrity, and producing magnificence from insipidity. However, Warhol described himself as a machine and did not want to write legendary works. In contrast, he only wanted to hide himself in the machine and to show the tedious and mediocre drama of ordinary life in a technical, neutral, and detached way. In this way, Warhol and his colleagues transformed art into popular art.
First Page
128
Last Page
141
Recommended Citation
Wan, Shuyuan. 2019. "Mediocre Drama: Jean Baudrillard's Remark on Andy Warhol." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 39, (6): pp.128-141. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol39/iss6/11
