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Lot Essay
Bomb is a pivotal work marking Warhol's transition from the literal representation of violence so often depicted in his early Death and Disaster silkscreens, to the implied violence, and the banal subjugation to it - as expressed during his distinctive Silver Objects Period. Reputed to be the only surviving signed sculpture from this period, this work is being brought to market for the first time since being acquired by the owner from the artist in 1967.
In January 1967, the New York section of the soon-to-be-defunct World Journal Tribune declared a celebratory ending to New York City's water shortage (declared in the summer of 1965) by announcing its first official 'Come Bomb with Me' water bomb contest. Describing it as a "...grand display of violent nostalgia, a soggy happening certain to awaken the love of handicraft and hostility that sleeps in the heart of every New Yorker", the magazine instructed contestants to "Think creatively belligerent; consult your children; dredge up your past; translate all your memory and desire into a weapon you'd be proud to drop on a loved one". Entries would be judged on "originality, neatness, nonspongeability and splatter potential" (Ibid, p. 16). First prize for the winning water bomb was to be a WWII-era 100-pound U.S. Air Force practice bomb decorated by Andy Warhol. (The Andy Warhol Catalog Raisonne, 02B, Paintings and Sculptures 1964-1969 , New York, 2004, p. 219).
Not long after announcing his 'retirement from painting', Warhol produced Bomb. The intrepid contest winner, Benny DuBose of Brooklyn, a self-described "28 year old police officer who still believes in Peter Pan", recalled after visiting Warhol's Factory later that spring, "...the place was covered in tin foil and large posters. There, in a sort of place of honor, in the corner surrounded by silver Coke bottles, was my bomb" (B. DuBose as quoted in The Andy Warhol Catalog Raisonne, 02B, Paintings and Sculptures 1964-1969, New York, 2004, p. 219). Volume 02B of Warhol's catalogue raisonne states, "On two occasions in early 1967, Warhol produced three-dimensional works that traded on his pop persona and his association with silver. The first was a bomb painted silver. .. The second, You're In, was toilet water packaged in silver Coca-Cola bottles..." (Ibid, p. 219). The two works can be seen together in a photograph taken by Billy Name-Linch, which records the silvery transition that had occurred at the Factory.
Though Bomb is Warhol's light-hearted response to the New York water-shortage, it is also a timely reflection of Cold-War sentiment and the United States' increasing intervention in the Vietnam conflict. With Bomb, Warhol conjures the abstraction of a familiar 'ready-made' and somewhat homo-erotic imagery (in this case a three-dimensional one) by imbuing it with double meaning. This is one of the enduring strains of Warhol's artistic output.
Much like Warhol's, Big Electric Chair, Bomb represents an iconic image of state-endorsed, industrialized, and almost ritualized death. Along with Warhol's images of the period, Bomb suggests monumental scale, avoiding any chance of daintiness. Without embellishment, save for being veiled in a coat of silver paint, Bomb is packed with force and imminent menace. Warhol related to DuBose at the time of its delivery, "It's so beautiful, I couldn't ruin it by painting anything on it once I painted it silver. I've sat and stared at it for weeks. Isn't it beautiful?" (A. Warhol as quoted in The Andy Warhol Catalog Raisonne, 02B, Paintings and Sculptures 1964-1969, New York, 2004, p. 219). Through Bomb, Warhol has created an icon that still screams to the post-modern age the potent reminder of our mortality.
In January 1967, the New York section of the soon-to-be-defunct World Journal Tribune declared a celebratory ending to New York City's water shortage (declared in the summer of 1965) by announcing its first official 'Come Bomb with Me' water bomb contest. Describing it as a "...grand display of violent nostalgia, a soggy happening certain to awaken the love of handicraft and hostility that sleeps in the heart of every New Yorker", the magazine instructed contestants to "Think creatively belligerent; consult your children; dredge up your past; translate all your memory and desire into a weapon you'd be proud to drop on a loved one". Entries would be judged on "originality, neatness, nonspongeability and splatter potential" (Ibid, p. 16). First prize for the winning water bomb was to be a WWII-era 100-pound U.S. Air Force practice bomb decorated by Andy Warhol. (The Andy Warhol Catalog Raisonne, 02B, Paintings and Sculptures 1964-1969 , New York, 2004, p. 219).
Not long after announcing his 'retirement from painting', Warhol produced Bomb. The intrepid contest winner, Benny DuBose of Brooklyn, a self-described "28 year old police officer who still believes in Peter Pan", recalled after visiting Warhol's Factory later that spring, "...the place was covered in tin foil and large posters. There, in a sort of place of honor, in the corner surrounded by silver Coke bottles, was my bomb" (B. DuBose as quoted in The Andy Warhol Catalog Raisonne, 02B, Paintings and Sculptures 1964-1969, New York, 2004, p. 219). Volume 02B of Warhol's catalogue raisonne states, "On two occasions in early 1967, Warhol produced three-dimensional works that traded on his pop persona and his association with silver. The first was a bomb painted silver. .. The second, You're In, was toilet water packaged in silver Coca-Cola bottles..." (Ibid, p. 219). The two works can be seen together in a photograph taken by Billy Name-Linch, which records the silvery transition that had occurred at the Factory.
Though Bomb is Warhol's light-hearted response to the New York water-shortage, it is also a timely reflection of Cold-War sentiment and the United States' increasing intervention in the Vietnam conflict. With Bomb, Warhol conjures the abstraction of a familiar 'ready-made' and somewhat homo-erotic imagery (in this case a three-dimensional one) by imbuing it with double meaning. This is one of the enduring strains of Warhol's artistic output.
Much like Warhol's, Big Electric Chair, Bomb represents an iconic image of state-endorsed, industrialized, and almost ritualized death. Along with Warhol's images of the period, Bomb suggests monumental scale, avoiding any chance of daintiness. Without embellishment, save for being veiled in a coat of silver paint, Bomb is packed with force and imminent menace. Warhol related to DuBose at the time of its delivery, "It's so beautiful, I couldn't ruin it by painting anything on it once I painted it silver. I've sat and stared at it for weeks. Isn't it beautiful?" (A. Warhol as quoted in The Andy Warhol Catalog Raisonne, 02B, Paintings and Sculptures 1964-1969, New York, 2004, p. 219). Through Bomb, Warhol has created an icon that still screams to the post-modern age the potent reminder of our mortality.