Andy Warhol: Pop Art Painter

by Susan Goldman Rubin

Book Overview

Provides an overview of an important artist's life. Assisted by photographs of Warhol and examples of his most well-known works, this work explains how Warhol went from humble beginnings to becoming the arbiter of cutting-edge pop culture.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 081095477X
• ISBN13: 9780810954779
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 10.5" x 10.3"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Bright color photos of his art accompany clear explanations of his style and approach.

Andy Warhol took ordinary objects from daily life and transformed them into big paintings and art, becoming known as a leader of the American Pop art movement. ANDY WARHOL: POP ARTIST surveys his career as a commercial artist and his perspective on painting, and is a perfect pick for kids in grades 4-6 who are receiving introductions to modern artists. Bright color photos of his art accompany clear explanations of his style and approach.

Get a shot at Andy Warhol

The construction of your average everyday children's book biography is a complex proposition. You have to examine your biographical subject and determine their kid-friendly appeal. If, for example, you are doing a biography of an obscure Pope of limited charm, you may wish to reconsider the task at hand. If, on the other hand, your subject is the infinitely amusing, not to say fascinating, Andy Warhol then you may have better luck. Next, this may shock you, but not all children are the same age. What age group are you writing for? It sounds backwards, but it's sometimes more difficult to write for younger rather than older children. Author Susan Goldman Rubin, however, has taken the challenge and has fashioned a book that someone under the age of 11 might find of interest. Finally, your pictures. With very few exceptions, young kids are not going to pay your book a whole lot of mind unless you find some cool and colorful photos/art with which to spot your book. In this sense, Ms. Rubin has not been entirely fulfilling. And so, "Andy Warhol: Pop Art Painter" is a great read and will certainly have young `uns grabbing for it, but it could have been a bit more forthcoming with the pretty pretty pictures of his work. Just my two cents. He was born Ondrej Warhola in 1928 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Slovakian parents. Never the most athletic of children (at age eight he came down with rheumatic fever), Andy loved comics, paper dolls, and coloring books. Once well, he started going to art classes and it was clear he had found his calling. Readers watch as Andy goes to school, moves to New York, and starts drawing shoes for Glamour magazine. Real pop art was soon to follow as Andy challenged what made something important and worthy of consideration. Can a comic be art if you blow up a frame? What about something as simple as a soup can? What is the worth of celebrity? By showing Andy's life and the choices he made, Rubin is able to show us a man, his unique style, and why that man and style were important to the world. Rubin takes certain steps to make the book kid-friendly right from the start. The almost picture book size of this ten by ten inch title makes it clear from the get-go that kids who pick this puppy up won't have to contest with any 500+ page tomes. The text then pops out at the viewer on top of colored squares that change their hue with the turn of every page. The author also knows that kids like to read about famous people AS kids, so we get a nice glimpse of Andy's younger years. Mind you, there are only 48 pages in this book and 15 of those are just a Time Line, Glossary, Source Notes, References and Resources, Illustration Credits, and an Author's Note. Now one of my favorite books about Andy Warhol was, "Uncle Andy's", by James Warhola. In that book, Andy Warhol's actual nephew recounted how he used to visit his favorite uncle once a year and discover through him what "art" was. Rubin doesn't mention thi