Gato Félix (Felix the Cat) - Andy Warhol

 

Gato Félix (Felix the Cat) - Andy Warhol
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Acrílica e serigrafia sobre tela - 228x284 - 1985-86


Executed a year before his death, Andy Warhol’s Felix the Cat exemplifies the artist’s fascination with the aesthetic of pop culture that has placed him at the apex of art history. A portrait of the internationally recognized anthropomorphic black cat, the present work renders a comic book ad of Felix the Cat laughing and pointing outside the margins of the canvas. Running on television from 1923 to 1966, Felix the Cat became one of the first and most famous cartoon characters in comic strip and T.V. history. Warhol, who was born in 1928, was part of the first generation of children that grew up watching and reading cartoons. This would prove to be extremely influential in Warhol’s later life; his artistic career began as a commercial illustrator and cartoonist. Paying homage to his early youth while also honoring American consumerism and celebrity culture, the present work demonstrates Warhol’s ethos as a Pop Art icon.
As a child, Warhol suffered from Sydenham chorea, a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary movements. When the disorder occasionally kept him home from school, Warhol would read comics and watch daytime T.V. as a form of entertainment. Fueling his imagination, Warhol found himself lost in the world of fictitious characters, among them Felix the Cat. In his early twenties, Warhol moved to New York City and became a freelance illustrator, creating cartoons for Glamour magazine, Columbia Records, and I Miller. Evidently influenced by the cartoon world that surrounded him as a child, Warhol launches his career through this genre of illustration for which he is now internationally revered.
In the 1980s, Warhol had a re-emergence of critical and financial success. During this time, his works primarily consisted of reproductions of images of popular culture like the Chanel Number 5 perfume bottle, Santa Clause, Queen Elizabeth II, Superman, among others. These items, and specifically Felix the Cat, serve as fragments of Warhol’s psyche and his obsession with all things fame. Moreover, part of Warhol’s re-emergence in the 1980s was largely due to his friendships with a younger generation of artists, including Jean-Michel Basquiat. In one of his many collaborations with the artist, Warhol included Felix the Cat as one of his contributions to the joint painting. Undoubtedly, Warhol felt a deep fascination with this nostalgic cartoon character of his childhood.
A television star in his own right, Felix the Cat was one of the most famous cartoon characters of its time. Designed and written by the American master animator Otto Messmer, Felix was a mischievous yet good-hearted black cat that captured the heart of American children. Widely considered the world’s first animated film star, Felix the Cat revolutionized television and quickly became an international success, becoming the first cartoon to sell plush toys and other merchandise. Warhol, forever enamored by all things fame, was keenly aware of this fact and was fascinated by the mere existence of a fictional, imaginary drawing being one of the most famous personalities of the twentieth century.
Warhol’s portraits of popular culture are a testimony to his infatuation with the mythology of fame —even once he had achieved worldwide recognition himself. His enduring ability to pay homage to the everlasting notions of celebrity, consumerism, and the desire for materialistic bliss are a singular aspect of his practice that has reverberated throughout art history ever since. After recovering by his attempted murder by Valerie Solanas in 1968, the 1980s became the most productive years of Warhol's life, probably having to do with his preoccupation with his own mortality. It is no coincidence that during this time Warhol turned toward creating images of American culture that formed part of his childhood memories, exemplified in the present work. For Warhol, superficiality and the world of one’s imagination trumped reality, an aspect of his practice that is unequivocally unique. A peak into the world of Warhol, Felix the Cat offers a portrait of the artist's most important creative quests.