Museum analysis

Robert Harkness

4/6/09

FA 102

Artwork Analysis

 

            The artwork that I analyzed was a work by pop artist Andy Warhol entitled “Twenty Jackies”.  This piece, silkscreen ink on canvas panels, was completed in 1964.  The work takes the form of 20 16”x24” canvas panels depicting the reproduced image of Jackie Kennedy and a marine at her husbands funeral.  These reproductions of such a famous photograph are each unique as the intensity of the shading varies creating different washed out effects through the variable resolutions which emphasize the trancelike facial expression of Jackie and the staunch complexion of the officer.   All 20 pictures share a rough and weathered appearance, reflecting the somber seriousness of the two subjects faces and the hopelessness of the event it depicts.  Furthermore, the dark qualities of the piece, having little intermediate tones of gray, propel the overall experience of loss.  Even if the viewer was not aware of the context of this image, they would be unable to escape the mournful feelings of loss that this piece portrays.

            This artwork’s audience is exposed to the shock that Jackie experienced during this tragedy.  Designed to depict complete emotional surrender, Warhol uses the repetition of this single image to jab the profundity of her loss toward the pieces audience.  Through the content of this artwork, Warhol relates to everyday culture by repeating such a historically charged image in his ambiguous style.  Although no emotional pain can be derived from Jackie’s expression, the stunning trauma she is clearly experiencing leaves this pieces audience in a similar state of surrender. 

            In its historical context, this artwork represents the end of the dream that surrounded John F. Kennedy and modern culture.  The shock of this event calls attention to the conditions of reality by exposing true cultural realities.  Reliving such devastating history through this artwork can only serve to remind modern culture of these conditions.  On a purely characteristic note, the form this work takes critiques the shallowness of cultural individuality against the existence of modern mass production through the almost mechanical reproduction of this image.