The first piece I looked at was Warhol’s pop art piece “Campbell’s tomato soup” in which the image of the can has been repeated numerous times. The idea of repetition (and in his later versions the manipulation of bold colours) attacks the concept of mass culture and the power of advertising and image. This ties in with the Baudrillard postmodern concept that everything is a copy of a copy. Reality in advertising is an illusion, and everything we are shown in advertising stems from simulacra. Warhol’s choice of a humble ordinary product, and then manipulating it and over repeating the brand image shows a manufactured culture, and the image we just accept to be the reality. This style has been repeated in Warhol’s work depicting images of famous icons such as the Queen, Elvis and Marilyn Monroe. These images also reflect the same cultural meanings as the Campbell’s soup cans as and the image of icons such as Marilyn Monroe show the infatuation with icons and the illusion of fame.
