1. DISORIENTING ICONIC FEMININITY:
WARHOL’S MARILYN MONROE
Andy Warhol’s famous
painting of Marilyn Monroe,
done in 1962, is a
postmodern portrait that
questions our state of
being in the world.

3. I think the repetition of the same portrait but in different color schemes represents the
various moods that can be felt through the same facial image or structure. Every color
change is significant in determining the attributes and details of each mood and the
way separate moods can blend together to form an entirely new mood. As Marilyn
Monroe is obviously an iconic figure in popular culture, Warhol’s repetition of her face
both points to this iconicity and then allows us to think about how the moods convey
universal ideas. In a sense, Marilyn’s image belongs to us, so who better to provide an
idea of who we are? The painting questions what a mood is and what are the
implications of each different mood on our external appearance? Each
portrait can also be thought of as a different guise or mask that reflects or hides her
(and by extension, our) internal thoughts and emotions.

4. Arguably the most eye catching part of
Warhol’s painting is the lower right image.
This is the most normal looking portrait and
when the mind is confused with the strange
colored portraits, it searches for a
recognizable, usual face. The fact that the
recognizable face in this case is Marilyn
Monroe also suggests that Warhol is asking
questions about the nature of intimacy and
how we assume to know people.

5. Though the image is the most familiar,
it is also a bit ghastly in its depiction of
Monroe. The background pink and the
yellow of her platinum-blond hair are
garish, suggesting an unnatural and
forced femininity.
Warhol further accentuates the dark shadows
around her cheeks, her mouth, her eyes, and in
the roots of her hair. Again, his interpretation of
her face seems to be an emphatic mask that is
still unable to hide its forced artificiality.

6. And yet beyond what can be read as his
criticism of the kind of femininity that
Monroe represents, his painting also
feels liberating and playful because
of the vibrant colors and the
fragmented form which contributes to
the excitement of the image. The clashing
colors and repetition of the face breaks the
normal mold of a portrait and Warhol
places colors in every which way where
they don’t normally belong on a face, lips,
hair, or eyes. The image is liberating in the
way that it breaks the mold and is no
longer confined to a plain and dull external
image. Warhol suggests you can alter your
appearance in a way more according to
your mood and feelings. Yet we see from
others what we expect to see.