The material world and meaning making

Art can be used to express sociological meanings and worldviews. American artist Andy Warhol understood this aspect of art as a political and social tool, and applied that to his work. One of Warhol's most famous works of art is actually a series in which he painted Campbell's Soup cans in a colorful "pop art" kitch manner. One of the most notable of the soup can series is known as "100 Cans." In this painting, Warhol renders the labels of 100 Campell's Tomato Soup cans in a grid. There is great uniformity to the design, which stretches to fill the entire canvas. No space on the canvas is left blank because it is filled with the soup cans. Warhol paints the soup cans in a realistic manner. The labels are red and white with a touch of yellow. Although the cans appear to be identical, they are not, as "A close look reveals the fact that the cans are not identical, nor are they evenly spaced. The bottom row is cut off, suggesting that they continue beyond the confines of the canvas."

The art historical context of the Warhol soup cans relates to the pop art phenomenon, in which artists were questioning the relevance of former categories of "high" versus "low" art. While Warhol's soup cans are considered to be fine art, they are also "low" art because they capitalize on imagery in popular culture. Therefore, there is some paradox and irony in the work, which also makes "100 Cans" quintessentially postmodern. When asked why he painted the soup cans, Warhol has stated, "Because I used to drink it. I used to have the same lunch every day, for 20 years, I guess, the same thing over and over again." He is expressing the monotony of eating soup every day in the painting.

However, there are deeper layers to the painting and sociological meaning can be easily read into the Warhol design. For one, the painting communicates much about consumer culture in the United States. Second, the painting conveys elements of mass market foods and the big food conglomerates that control the American diet. Third, the Warhol painting symbolizes suburban America with its track housing and attempts to impose homogeneity and conformity on society. Just as Warhol admits to eating soup every day, he paints this to give America a mirror in which to see its own mundane and monotonous habits.

Ironically, the very essence of what Warhol was trying to convey about mass market mentality and consumer culture in America has come true as his painting of the soup cans has actually made its way onto the very soup can Warhol represented. News sources like the New York Times and CNN have featured the phenomenon, showing that the Warhol soup cans are now literally soup cans. Art and consumerism have completely fused together, in ways that Warhol predicted. Whether Warhol would have laughed or cried will never truly be known, but given his astute observations about American popular culture evidenced in his art, Warhol would have simply admitted that there is little boundary between art and sociology. On some level, all art tells the viewer something about its sociological context. A painting by Vermeer says much about gender roles and norms in Flemish society; just as a painting by Warhol says much about consumerism in American society.

One irony that Bennett points out is, "Art collectors have paid millions of dollars for some of Warhol's pieces, but shoppers at Target, where the limited-edition soup cans are on sale, will have to shell out only 75 cents for a 10.75-ounce can." Warhol's art is the ideal bridge between "low" and "high" art, evidenced by this differential in pricing. The "authentic" painting by Warhol is worth millions, but the authentic item that Warhol depicted on the canvas is only worth 75 cents. Consumers place a high demand on something that is deemed valuable and irreplaceable, but not as high of a demand on food.

Andy Warhol's "100 Cans" points out that Americans have been seduced by consumerism and materialism, to the point where they cannot distinguish between what is real and what is not. Indeed, this is true with regards to food itself. Warhol might have eaten Campbell's soup every day for lunch, but that does not mean that Campell's Soup is necessarily a good thing. Warhol grew up in the era when mass produced food became common. Industrialized food is one of the root causes of obesity in America, as more people have access to cheap methods of ingesting large amounts of fat, sugar, and salt. Wooed by advertisements, consumers have become unable to discern the difference between real food and processed food. The people symbolized by "100 Cans," that is, suburban people in America living in track housing or McMansions, are the ones most prone to buying the Warhol can from Target. Warhol's "100 Cans" says a lot about American culture.