63708 reading comprehension andy warhol

Andy Warhol

Born on August 6, 1928, in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, Andy Warhol was a successful
magazine and ad illustrator who became a leading
artist of the 1960s Pop Art movement. He ventured
into a wide variety of art forms, including
performance art, filmmaking, video installations
and writing, and controversially blurred the lines
between fine art and mainstream aesthetics.
Born Andrew Warhola on August 6, 1928, in the
neighborhood of Oakland in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, Andy Warhol's parents were
Slovakian immigrants. His father, Ondrej Warhola,
was a construction worker, while his mother, Julia
Warhola, was an embroiderer. They were devout
Catholics who attended mass regularly, and
maintained much of their Slovakian culture and
heritage while living in one of Pittsburgh's Eastern
European ethnic enclaves.
Warhol attended Holmes Elementary school and
took the free art classes offered at the Carnegie
Institute (now the Carnegie Museum of Art) in
Pittsburgh.

In the late 1950s, Warhol began devoting more
attention to painting, and in 1961, he debuted the
concept of "pop art"—paintings that focused on
mass-produced commercial goods. In 1962, he
exhibited the now-iconic paintings of Campbell's
soup cans. These small canvas works of everyday

consumer products created a major stir in the art
world, bringing both Warhol and pop art into the
national spotlight for the first time.

British artist Richard Hamilton described pop art as
"popular, transient, expendable, low cost, massproduced, young, witty, sexy, gimmicky,
glamorous, big business."

Warhol's other famous pop paintings depicted
Coca-cola bottles, vacuum cleaners and
hamburgers. He also painted celebrity portraits in
vivid and garish colors; his most famous subjects
include Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Mick
Jagger and Mao Zedong. As these portraits gained
fame and notoriety, Warhol began to receive
hundreds of commissions for portraits from
socialites and celebrities. His portrait " Eight
Elvises" eventually resold for $100 million in 2008,
making it one of the most valuable paintings in
world history.
In 1964, Warhol opened his own art studio, a large
silver-painted warehouse known simply as "The
Factory." The Factory quickly became one of New
York City's premier cultural hotspots, a scene of
lavish parties that were attended by the city's
wealthiest socialites and celebrities. Warhol died
on February 22, 1987, in New York City at the age
of 58.
/>people/andy-warhol-9523875?page=1

Find where the base verb is used in the reading selection. After studying the definitions, use the
word bank below to write in a synonym for each verb. The first one is done for you
verb
how is it used in definition
Write in the synonym
the selection?
1. venture
ventured
to risk something possibly dangerous or to
B. risk or try
begin something new in business
2. maintain
to keep something working in the same
way
3. become
to change or develop into something else
A.

4. blur

to make something fuzzy or not clear

5. attend
6. debut

go somewhere or to an event (often
regularly)
to unveil something for the first time

7. depict

to show something in a picture form

8. devote

to commit your whole self to something
because you love it

A. dedicate
D. turn into
G. illustrate

B. risk or try
E. smudge
H. present

C. continue
F. be somewhere

B. Use the word bank on the next page to match these definitions. The first one is done for you.
1. a person who draws pictures for a book or advertisement
2. bright, clashing and gaudy colors
3. to do something in a way that people don’t agree with and talk about
4. luxurious and extravagant
5. first or superior
6. being well-known, famous for something
7. very religious, committed to your religion
8. a distinct group within a larger community
9. lots of different types of something

10. to manufacture large numbers of the same thing
11. to mix, or to cause a commotion or reaction
12. to be pleasing or beautiful to the eye
13. to ask someone to make something specifically for you, custom, OR money

that you make from sales
14. using and saying words in a clever funny way
15. slang term for a very popular nightclub or place to go
16. an image or idea that becomes a famous symbol of someone or something

illustrator


illustrator
iconic
mass-produced
lavish

variety
enclaves
hotspots
premier

controversially
notoriety
commissions
witty

devout
stir

garish
aesthetics

C. Answer the comprehension questions.
1. What are some varieties of art forms that Andy used?

______________________________________________________________________________
2. What ethnicity were Andy’s parents? Where they born here in the US?

______________________________________________________________________________

3. Who are some famous celebrities that Andy Warhol painted?

______________________________________________________________________________
4. What are some adjective that would describe “pop art”?

______________________________________________________________________________

5. What was “The Factory”? Did they make anything in The Factory?

______________________________________________________________________________
6. In your opinion, what was different about Andy Warhol’s art than previous artists before his time?

______________________________________________________________________________

D. Find a related word in the reading selection

word

definition

Write in the related word

1. eventual

happening at a later time, a result

eventually

2. success
3. social

something that turns out well in terms of
fame, power or money
relating to the interaction of people

4. gimmick

something to grab your attention

5. exhibit

to show or display art

6. embroider

decorative sewing in patterns or initials

7. wealth

prosperity, riches

8. install

to connect or position something to use