Andy Warhol, Brillo Boxes (1969 version of 1964 original), screenprint on wood, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California, Gift of the artist, 1969

Mon, 01 Jun 1998 00:00:00 -0400

Title	Andy Warhol, Brillo Boxes (1969 version of 1964 original), screenprint on wood, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California, Gift of the artist, 1969
Author	Walker Art Center
Date	1998
Institution	Walker Art Center

"When you think about it, department stores are kind of like museums."--Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol is arguably the most important figure of American Pop Art, a 1960s movement characterized by its critique of postwar consumerism and popular culture. Warhol is widely known for cool, detached works that borrow images from television, advertising, and other mass media. His subject matter included ubiquitous consumer items such as Coca-Cola bottles and Campbell's soup cans and celebrity figures ranging from Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley to Jacqueline Kennedy.

In Brillo Boxes Warhol took a popular consumer item and elevated it to the level of high art by producing large-scale trompel'oeil (trick of the eye) versions of the original. Warhol silkscreened the "Brillo Pad" logo onto previously manufactured, painted wooden boxes, and stacked the objects to mimic a supermarket product display.

Andy Warhol, Brillo Boxes (1969 version of 1964 original), screenprint on wood, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California, Gift of the artist, 1969

Andy Warhol, Brillo Boxes (1969 version of 1964 original), screenprint on wood, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California, Gift of the artist, 1969

Andy Warhol, Brillo Boxes (1969 version of 1964 original), screenprint on wood, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California, Gift of the artist, 1969

Walker Art Center

1998