Shot Marilyns
Encyclopedia
The Shot Marilyns is a work of art
produced in 1964
by Andy Warhol
. It consists of four canvases, each a square measuring 40 inches and each consisting of a painting of a Marilyn Monroe
, each shot through in the forehead by a single bullet.
Warhol actually painted five colored Marilyns in 1964 with different colored backgrounds: red, orange, light blue, sage blue, and turquoise and he stored them at The Factory
, his studio on East 47th Street in Manhattan
. Dorothy Podber
(1932-2008), a friend of Factory photographer Billy Name
, saw the recently completed paintings stacked against one another at the studio and asked Warhol if she could shoot them. Believing that she meant she wanted to photograph the paintings, Warhol agreed. Podber doffed her pair of white gloves, withdrew a small revolver from her purse, and fired a shot into the stack of four "Marilyn" paintings, which became known as The Shot Marilyns. (The fifth painting with the turquoise background was not in the stack.)
The Ray Johnson
biography How to Draw a Bunny describes this event as a performance piece by Dorothy Podber. After she'd shot the Marilyns and left, Andy Warhol purportedly asked Billy Name to please ask Dorothy not to do that again. Podber was, however, henceforth barred from The Factory for life.
Work of art
A work of art, artwork, art piece, or art object is an aesthetic item or artistic creation.The term "a work of art" can apply to:*an example of fine art, such as a painting or sculpture*a fine work of architecture or landscape design...
produced in 1964
1964 in art
-Events:*The Post-painterly Abstraction exhibition curated by art critic Clement Greenberg opens at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and subsequently travels to the Walker Art Center and the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.-Works:...
by Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
. It consists of four canvases, each a square measuring 40 inches and each consisting of a painting of a Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, each shot through in the forehead by a single bullet.
Warhol actually painted five colored Marilyns in 1964 with different colored backgrounds: red, orange, light blue, sage blue, and turquoise and he stored them at The Factory
The Factory
The Factory was Andy Warhol's original New York City studio from 1962 to 1968, although his later studios were known as The Factory as well. The Factory was located on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street, in Midtown Manhattan. The rent was "only about one hundred dollars a year"...
, his studio on East 47th Street in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. Dorothy Podber
Dorothy Podber
Dorothy Podber was an American performance artist.Born in the Bronx to a mother who had tried repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, to abort her, and to a father who worked for the Jewish mobster Dutch Schultz, Podber was later remembered as a disruptive influence by classmates from West Walton High...
(1932-2008), a friend of Factory photographer Billy Name
Billy Name
Billy Name, , is an American photographer, filmmaker and lighting designer. He was the archivist of the Warhol Factory, from 1964 to 1970. His brief romance and subsequent friendship with Andy Warhol led to substantial collaboration on Warhol's work, including his films, paintings and sculpture...
, saw the recently completed paintings stacked against one another at the studio and asked Warhol if she could shoot them. Believing that she meant she wanted to photograph the paintings, Warhol agreed. Podber doffed her pair of white gloves, withdrew a small revolver from her purse, and fired a shot into the stack of four "Marilyn" paintings, which became known as The Shot Marilyns. (The fifth painting with the turquoise background was not in the stack.)
The Ray Johnson
Ray Johnson
Raymond Edward Johnson , known primarily as a collagist and correspondence artist, was a seminal figure in the history of Neo-Dada and early Pop art...
biography How to Draw a Bunny describes this event as a performance piece by Dorothy Podber. After she'd shot the Marilyns and left, Andy Warhol purportedly asked Billy Name to please ask Dorothy not to do that again. Podber was, however, henceforth barred from The Factory for life.