Andy Warhol Flash (F & S II.37) For Sale

  • Andy Warhol Flash (F & S II.37), Facts | History | Meaning

    Andy Warhol Flash (F & S II.37)

    Facts | History | Meaning
    Catalogue Title Flash﹣November 22, 1963 (FS II.37)
    Year 1968
    Size 21″ x 21″ 53,3 x 53,3 cm
    Medium Portfolio of eleven screenprints, colophon, and Teletype text on paper. The prints, wrapped with the screenprint cover, are in a plexiglass box.
    Edition Edition of 200, 26 numbered in Roman numerals; 10 lettered A-J have three additional screenprints, each of which is a composite of images from II.33 and II.38. (See II.43A-43C.) Each print, housed in a folder with a page of Teletype text, is signed in ball-point pen on verso; the colophon is signed and numbered in ball-point pen.
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  • Flash (F & S II.37)

    "Warhol aimed to criticise this obsession with tragedy and the media circus that ensues, as it distorts our perception of reality." 

    Warhol explores the way the media sensationalises tragedy and violence in his Flash portfolio, published in 1968. Published five years after the assassination of President JFK, the series explores the media frenzy that followed, watched closely by millions of people across the world.

    This screenprint depicts the gun used by Lee Harvey Oswald to assassinate JFK, layered over a newspaper advertisement for the same model, rendered in a variety of sickly green shades. The imagery of the gun is harrowing, exemplified through the context of the assassination. This contrasts with the normalcy of the advertisement, creating a dichotomy between the everyday and catastrophe. This is perhaps an echo to the way violence became normalised within day to day American life, due to its constant appearance within the media. Warhol aimed to criticise this obsession with tragedy and the media circus that ensues, as it distorts our perception of reality. As Warhol himself said, “I’d been thrilled about having Kennedy as president… he was handsome, young, smart, but it didn’t bother me that much that he was dead. What bothered me was the way television and radio were programming everybody to feel so sad. It seemed like no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t get away from the thing.” Here, Warhol is suggesting that the media creates a collective psyche, telling us how we should feel rather than allowing us to digest our emotions as an individual. This use of consumer imagery placed alongside an object of mass destruction allows Warhol to explore the surreal nature of consumer culture within America. Although access to guns remains a constitutional right to this day, the assassination of Kennedy provoked the Gun Control Act of 1968, showing how Warhol had the ability to recognise the most acute aspects of the American experience within 20th century America.

    This series remains a powerful one to this day, memorialising one of the most significant events of the 1960s. Warhol’s intertwining of fame and death is felt strongly within this portfolio, and can be seen throughout his other work, such as his Marilyn Monroe series. Warhol continued with these themes in his wider Death and Disaster series, focusing on further violent and disturbing images appearing within the media.

  • Buy or sell Flash (F & S II.37) by Andy Warhol at Andipa Editions

    Buy Andy Warhol Flash (F & S II.37)

    Andipa Editions, as part of Andipa, have been at the forefront of the Warhol market for over 20 years. To enquire about buying  Flash (F & S II.37) by Andy Warhol, contact us via sales@andipa.com or on +44 (0) 20 7589 2371.

     

     

    Sell Andy Warhol Flash (F & S II.37) by Andy Warhol

    With a global network of active buyers, Andipa Editions are the place to sell your Flash (F & S II.37) print. Straight-forward and stress-free, we manage the process on your behalf and help to maximise your return. For a complimentary valuation of your Flash (F & S II.37) print, contact us via sales@andipa.com or on +44 (0) 20 7589 2371. Explore our collection of Andy Warhol original prints for sale.