Hands down, the definitive colors of the 60s were red and white. It was in 1962 that a simple soup can first became a work of art. Andy Warhol only painted things that he related to; he wanted to incorporate the mundane soup can that he held in his hands into an art movement that was born in Great Britain. In other words, he wanted to make it the figurehead of Pop Art. And so, in that year, Warhol created his Campbell’s soup can series. Paint on canvas composed of 32 small works. 32 paintings because Campbell’s sells exactly 32 different kinds of soup. And, since seeing something repeatedly takes away its inherent interest, Warhol fashioned the daily life of which he was the incarnation into a concrete work of art. Individual paintings made through a semi-mechanical screen printing process. He gave each of the paintings the real flavor of the original can, with a little help from a list of products that the company gave him.
When questioned about the choice of a vulgar Campbell’s can, Warhol gave several reasons. It may be impossible to identify the original spark that started the fire, but this can that’s almost as old as America itself was a part of Andy Warhol’s entire life. He was said to have eaten Campbell’s soup everyday for lunch for 20 years, and one memory even elicited the following from him during an interview with art critic GR Swenson: “Oh my god, yes, that’s right, the tin flowers (editor’s note: at his mother’s house) were made of canned fruit, that’s why I painted my first cans…” To pay homage to Warhol and his source of inspiration, Campbell’s is collaborating with the Andy Warhol Foundation to print Pop Art decor on the most famous can in the world. Four styles (pink, orange, green, and blue) that will, like Warhol, be the fruit of an industrial process. The result: a collector’s edition soup bowl with an original tag attached, just like at The Factory. Looks like anyone can get a Warhol for just $0.75!
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