OCTOPUS

Octopus-Partial-1-Media.jpg

A central head with multiple arms that enable it to reach out, grab, and explore. That image evolved into the Earth in the center with living habitats in orbit, reaching out to explore the cosmos. Then Andy Warhol’s head replaced the Earth, playing off his self-centered portraits in a fright wig. The habitats evolved into soup cans, his first claim to fame. I added an “Andy” signature to the top of each can, to emphasize his curious process of appropriating products and people, making his fame by identifying them as totems of our culture. His dual process of seeking fame while hiding within the world of the Factory references the octopuses’ voracious appetite and ability to visually and physically disappear into its background. I added a base of three expanding forms, painted colors Warhol might have used.