Andy Warhol Eats a Hamburger

Ok so I can't figure out how to post this actual video to my blog, but hopefully you will be able to follow the link above. The video is titled "Andy Warhol eats a Hamburger" and it contains four minutes and thirty three seconds of precisely this. I thought it would be a good jump into our unit on Andy Warhol. If you take a peek at the work of Andy Warhol it is obvious that he focused on pop culture and modern art. He became famous for such Americanized works as a simple painting of the Campbell's soup can. This video is therefore a perfect representation of Warhol and all he stands for. Because the hamburger Warhol consumes is a fast food burger, it represents the fast-food nation America has become. The Campbell's soup work was the beginning of American food art for Warhol and his interest in this medium has now progressed to big-business fast food industries. The only words he utters in the video are "My name is Andy Warhol, and I just finished eating a hamburger".

Why should the American public take his earlier works more seriously than this one? I am interested to hear what my fellow classmates think of this video. Is it a commentary on the disgusting influence of fast food on American culture? Or merely a documentation of an important man consuming a quick meal. Anyway, I think it is definitely worth checking out. Similar to the surrealist film shown in class on Wednesday 10/22, it is repetitive and pretty annoying...but perhaps this is another connection to be made; between pop culture and surrealism.

p.s. - If the link doesn't work, just copy this one into your web browser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaf6zF-FJBk