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andy warhol toy series

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Toys Go Pop

We all know of Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell’s soup cans, but few pop art fans know of his series of artworks based on his own toy collection. In 2014, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art hosted Andy Warhol: Toy Paintings for the Whole Family, an exhibition curated by The Andy Warhol Museum. The exhibit consisted of 86 Warhol works, including silkscreens and drawings with colorful images of playful puppies, swinging monkeys, drum-playing pandas, and whimsical depictions of transportation.

As an artist exploring the concepts of branding and consumerism, some images in Warhol’s toy series actually depict the packaging of these toys, similar to his Campbell’s soup cans and Brillo boxes. The mechanical puppy, for example, includes the warning “Not recommended for children under three years of age.” Blurring the lines between high art and everyday playthings, these toy images have more than earned their “15 minutes of fame.”

Photo: Kellermann, Germany 1938, Wikimedia Commons.

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