Listen&Learn: Andy Warhol

Learn about the famous pop artist.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• art movement: a style or form of art that many artists use over a period of time
• icon: a recognizable image that represents something
• print: an art piece that has been reproduced
• controversial: causing many different opinions
• venue: a place where events are held
• dispute: a disagreement

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:11 — 1.1MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Andy Warhol was an American artist. He was born in 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Warhol was one of the most famous figures in the New York pop art movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Pop artists created works that used flat and icons of popular culture. Some common subjects of pop art pieces included consumer , comic characters, and . Among Warhol’s most famous pieces are his prints of actress Marilyn Monroe. Warhol lived an and controversial life. His art studio was a venue for many celebrity parties. In 1968, he survived a gunshot wound after a dispute with a writer who worked with him. He was also gay, which was at the time. Warhol died in 1987, at age 58.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. Andy Warhol created his art in
   a. Pittsburgh
   b. New York
   c. Los Angeles
   
2. Warhol was a famous figure in the
   a. pop art movement
   b. surrealist movement
   c. abstract art movement
   
3. Warhol’s studio was
   a. a venue for many parties
   b. often a crime scene
   c. the subject of one of his famous artworks

Discussion/essay questions

1. Warhol’s works often reproduced iconic images. This has caused debates about credit and ownership of art. Some people believe that transforming other people’s work is a form of art. Others believe that this is stealing. What do you think?

Transcript

Andy Warhol was an American artist. He was born in 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Warhol was one of the most famous figures in the New York pop art movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Pop artists created works that used flat colours and icons of popular culture. Some common subjects of pop art pieces included consumer products, comic characters, and celebrities. Among Warhol’s most famous pieces are his prints of actress Marilyn Monroe. Warhol lived an eventful and controversial life. His art studio was a venue for many celebrity parties. In 1968, he survived a gunshot wound after a dispute with a writer who worked with him. He was also gay, which was illegal at the time. Warhol died in 1987, at age 58.

Answers to comprehension questions

1b 2a 3a