Andy Warhol
Image:Bernard Gotfryd, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons

During the 1960s Andy Warhol concentrated on painting realistic pictures of everyday items. This style became known as pop art. Among his most famous paintings were comic strips, images of Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, Coca Cola bottles and the electric chair. His probably best known painting is the famous Campbell soup can. In his drawings Warhol simplified objects and portraits, and painted them in many different colors.

The center of Warhol’s life was his art studio, called the Factory. There he met many other famous artists and celebrities. The Factory was also used as a film studio in which Andy Warhol produced many of his famous underground films. They usually had no special plot but were very long. In one of them he shows a man sleeping for five hours.

In 1968 a frustrated actress, Valerie Solanas, walked into Warhol’s studio and shot the artist. Although he had already been pronounced dead, doctors managed to reanimate him and save his life. Warhol never fully recovered from this incident.

During the 1970s and 80s Warhol continued to paint with the same silk screen technique that had made him popular but, in some way, his career was declining. In 1987 Warhol died at the age of 58 during a routine gall bladder operation.

Andy Warhol had a unique personality. He was a declared homosexual who liked to be famous and stand in the spotlights. He liked to be surrounded by flashy characters like Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison. The Andy Warhol Museum, in Pittsburgh is the largest art museum dedicated to one single artist. It holds more than 12,000 works of the icon of pop art. The highest-priced painting is Eight Elvises , images of Elvis Presley, which was sold for over 100 million dollars.

Exercises

Multiple Choice Test
Words and Definitions
Missing Word Cloze
Crossword

Image : Herman Hiller, World Telegram staff photographer,
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

As a student Malcolm dreamed of becoming a lawyer. However, he soon became involved in criminal activities. At the age of 21 Malcolm was sent to prison where he joined the Nation of Islam, or Black Muslims, as they were often called. They hated white people and referred to them as devils. In contrast to the non-violent teachings of Martin Luther King, the Black Muslims thought they could fight whites through violence. In prison Malcolm changed his last name to X, which stands for the unknown name of Malcolm’s African ancestors.

Malcolm X quickly rose up the ranks of the Nation of Islam and supported the group’s leader Elijah Muhammed. In his passionate speeches he tried to convince black supporters that they should be proud of their black ancestry and should live separately, apart from the white population

After quarrelling with important members of the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X left the movement in 1964. During his stay in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where he met many different people, Malcolm X slowly started changing his opinion of whites and gave up his violent attitudes towards them. After returning to the United States he formed his own group, the Organization of Afro-American Unity.

In his later life Malcolm X worked together with Martin Luther King, even though he did not share his ideas. In 1965 the black leader was shot during a speech he was giving in New York. It was thought that members of the Nation of Islam were responsible for the murder.

Exercises