Andy Warhol was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, having helped usher in pop art as a major art movement in the ’60s. His work is now understood to represent the modern era of commercialization and indiscriminate “sameness,” as it explores the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture, and advertisement. Although his soup cans were not as shocking and vulgar as some of his other early pop art, they still offended the art world’s sensibilities that had developed so as to partake in the intimate emotions of artistic expression. Warhol had a positive view of ordinary culture and felt the abstract expressionists had taken great pains to ignore the splendor of modernity. The Campbell’s Soup Can series provided him with a chance to express his positive view of modern culture.
