The Pera Museum in Istanbul is currently featuring an exhibition on Andy Warhol's pop art titled "Andy Warhol: Pop Art for Everyone" that will be running until July 20. The exhibition features Warhol's iconic works like his Campbell's Soup paintings as well as his portraits of famous figures. Warhol was interested in reflecting and potentially satirizing American popular culture through his use of iconic images. In addition to Warhol's works, the exhibition also includes pieces by British artist Stephen Chambers and a room exploring the social and cultural role of coffeehouses in the Ottoman Empire.

1. "Andy Warhol: Pop Art for Everyone" at the Pera Museum
By Kosta Dalageorgas
This past year, the Pera Museum has been featuring art from the 20th century's
most well‐known artists. Earlier in the year, they featured a diverse collection from
Pablo Picasso and currently they are featuring work from perhaps the most famous
artist since Picasso, Andy Warhol. Image and its meaning was perhaps the most
important fixture in Warhol's work. He liked to play around with iconic images in
American culture and mythology and this is reflected in "Andy Warhol: Pop Art For
Everyone" running until July 20.
Pop Art has been interpreted as meaning popular art, which means art for mass
audiences depicting popular culture. Many artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy
Lichtenstein incorporated aspects of popular post WWII American culture such as
consumerism, Hollywood and comics into their artistic creations. Andy Warhol's
interest in and unique interpretation of American myth making and identity form a
significant part of the exhibition on display.
The first thing that came to my mind when I entered the exhibit, on the top floor
of the Pera was the bright Day‐Glo colors which spelled out "Warhol" as well as the
way the walls were painted with bright green which also reflected the art mounted
on them. "Andy Warhol: Pop Art for Everyone" consists of the upper two floors of
the museum. Warhol's iconic "Campbell's Soup" from the 1970s is on display. Many
critics have debated what Warhol was getting at with his renditions of a classic
American symbol. Is he reflecting American popular culture or satirizing and/or
mocking it? It is up for viewers to decide for themselves. Throughout the exhibition,
it becomes evident that portraiture was a major obsession of Warhol's art. However,
when I mean portraiture, I mean his own interpretations, reinventions, and
reimaginings of classic portraits or symbols of 20th century popular culture.
Warhol's obsessions with American mythology as well as the global cult of
celebrity in which he accurately foresaw our own current obsession with reality
shows and celebrity, where he allegedly said, "in the future everyone will be world‐
famous for 15 minutes", are on full display on the 2nd floor of the continuing
exhibition. Here, his depiction of iconic figures such as Vladimir Lenin, John Wayne,
and Mick Jagger are on display. The main themes of this section of the exhibition are
wildlife and animals, the American West, and Renaissance paintings. His "Details of
Renaissance Paintings" are quite curious, unlike what most people associate
Warhol's art with, and look like they belong illustrating a version of The Little Prince.
The art shown in this section is displayed on red and light blue walls, continuing the
bright color pattern established on the first level of this exhibition.
A pleasant surprise I found when visiting the Pera to see "Andy Warhol: Pop Art
for Everyone", was noticing the work of British artist Stephen Chambers for the first
time. Chambers' work shows scenes of immense beauty and respect for country life
and living as well as commentary on it, especially in his massive and monumental
work, "The Big Country". Chambers' work is full of vivid colors and characters and is
influenced by work as varied as William Blake and the Flemish art masters.
Finally, the Pera concludes their new exhibitions currently on display with a small

2. room on "Ottoman Social Media: The Coffeehouse". It is here where one can see the
importance that coffee and the coffeehouse played in the socialization and
interaction of various people in the Ottoman Empire, which is a legacy that
continues today.
Overall, the Pera Museum's sample of Andy Warhol's Pop Art, was colorful and
will prompt discussion of what exactly he was interested in conveying to his
audience. The bonus of visiting Pera to see Warhol's art is seeing the work of
Stephen Chambers along with the importance of coffee and coffeehouses and their
artistic legacy during the Ottoman Empire. Try not to miss these unique displays of
creativity and color from a variety of countries and cultures.
http://en.peramuzesi.org.tr/
Pera Museum
Meşrutiyet Caddesi No. 65
Tepebası, Beyoğlu 34443
Tuesdays‐Saturdays: 10:00‐7:00
Sundays: 12:00‐6:00
Closed Mondays
Long and Free Fridays 6:00‐10:00
Admission: 10 TL
Students and Teachers: 5 TL