Andy Warhol is known for his magical ability to grab everyone’s attention with even the simplest things such as a soup can.Back in the 80s, when different animals were facing the danger of extinction, various activists turned to Warhol for help in grabbing people’s attention.
Since he was an animal lover himself, this was not daunting since it was something that he liked to do. It was one of his many mantras of painting subject matter.Some refer to this series as the ‘Andy’s Arc’ since it playfully portrays the real.
His art collection features ten of the andy Warhol endangered species around the world.
These animals include:
• San Francisco Silverspot
• Black rhinoceros
• Pine Barrens Tree Frog
• Bald Eagle
• African Elephant
• Siberian Tiger
• Bighorn Ram
• Giant Panda
• Grevy’s Zebra
• Orangutan
He painted every animal in its attributes giving each one of them a personality that he would give to a person’s painting.He personalized the death of the endangered species by letting people understand how each and every animal was unique.
He further reminded the world that the endangered species were as a result of humanitarian acts that everyone ought to be aware of. From his paintings, the common thing is that each animal was making direct eye contact with the portrait’s viewer.
The animals appeared as though they were asking humans to pay attention to them and take some actions to save them.Primarily, humans and animals communicate through their body language, which is well reflected in the facial expressions and the position of each animal in his paintings.
He used greens, oranges, and neon pinks in drawing the images. Though this might seem a little bit far from what is real, he still managed to render the animal realistically. He maintained his bright and happy signature style in drawing the images, although the underlying message that was being communicated was sad.
Like many of Warhol’s paintings, the Andy Warhol endangered animal series still remains relevant to date – it is actually more needed than before.Warhol created a dynamic tension between reality and art and used art as a real enforcer for change.
Of these ten endangered species, eight of them are still endangered up to today. The Pine Barrens tree frog and the Bald Eagle were removed from the endangered list. Some animals, such as the Sumatran Orangutan and the Black Rhinoceros,still exist but in a critical state of endangerment.
