American pop art icon Andy Warhol may have passed away early some 27 years ago, but more of his work has just been uncovered.
Some images Warhol created on a Commodore Amiga in 1985 were found on floppy disks by The Andy Warhol Museum. The Warhol announced the existence of the pictures in a press release and published them on its official website. Whether these were meant as serious works by Warhol or they were simply instances of him experimenting with the technology is unknown.
The discovery began in 2011 with new media artist Cory Arcangel watching a YouTube clip of Warhol using the computer to create images. He became curious as to the fate of the images, wondering if any had been saved and, if so, where they could be found. Arcangel got in contact with The Warhol and together they tracked down the the pictures, found in the archives on some floppy disks.
The files contain some digital versions of Warhol's real-life work, including a crude sketch of his very famous Campbell's Soup Cans piece. The can is drawn with Microsoft Paint-level quality and is a slanted approximation of the real thing.
Also included is a simple copy and paste job done on a pre-rendered version of Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. Warhol added a third eye to a copy of the painting that was already loaded into the program he was using--he was not a master digital artist, in case that isn't clear.
Many deride much modern art as not "real" artwork, including pieces like Warhol's soup can. Whatever your thoughts on that era of art, this discovery is pretty interesting so many years later. Director of the Warhol Museum Eric Shiner explains that Warhol maintained an interest in technology throughout his life.
"Warhol saw no limits to his art practice. These computer generated images underscore his spirit of experimentation and his willingness to embrace new media," Shiner said.
All images published courtesy of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visuals Arts, Inc., courtesy of The Andy Warhol Museum.