Andy Warhol’s Attraction to Mao Zedong

                      Mao Zedong, commonly referred to as Chairman Mao, was born December 26, 1893. He was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerilla warfare strategist, political philosopher, and the leader of the Chinese Revolution. Mao was the architect and founding father of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). From the establishment of the PRC in 1949, Mao, held authoritarian control over the nation until his death on September 9^th 1976. He was both loved and feared by his people, which is one reason why Andy Warhol found him so intriguing.

Although it is often difficult to determine the motive behind an artists work, Warhol had many reoccurring themes and ideas that initially attracted him to Mao Zedong. Andy Warhol was obsessed with the idea of commercialism and how even a living breathing human being can be seen as an object due to the tremendous media attention that surrounds them. Warhol chose to use the portrait of Mao that was on the cover of his famous book titled Thoughts of Chairman Mao. The Portrait was found everywhere in china, in houses, on buildings, government offices, etc. Warhol was intrigued by the political propaganda and how repetition of this one image was used to create social power. In his Chairman Mao series, Warhol’s irreverent attitude toward his subject is blatantly obvious from his choice of colors and techniques. The images are flamboyant and highlighted by graffiti like marks. He used the image of Mao to appropriate western ideas of advertising.

Warhol was drawn to icons that were surrounded by mystery and tragedy. He used images of people like Jackie and Marilyn because he was attracted to the inscrutable and charismatic beings that captured the attention of the world. Mao was one of these beings, both revered and abhorred by his people, while holding the future in his hands.

The individuals that are shown in Warhol’s work are often glamorous and loved but they are commodities nonetheless; reproducible much like Campbell’s soup. Creating a silkscreen of Mao is in essence transforming him to a commodity. It is ironic in that Mao, who was a socialist opposed to consumerism was depicted as nothing more than a commodity by Warhol.

Many deem Chairman Mao’s reign as a very tragic time in history. His reputation of being responsible for millions of deaths may be what ultimately attracted the tragedy obsessed Warhol to this icon.