Monsters and Marilyns

CS Lewis once said “How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been”. This was the primary thought behind the series Monsters and Marilyns. Throughout history Fascists, Communists, Marxists, and Socialists have murdered and oppressed those who were under their rule, yet popular culture and propaganda have tried to make these monsters into heros and icons. Twisting peoples memories and brainwashing them into an Orwellian nightmare.

Andy Warhol’s silkscreen painting of Marilyn Monroe is one of the most iconic painting of the Pop Art Movement. Not many people know that the painting was meant to show the mask of popularity that a celebrity wears. On the outside there were different shades of happiness, but under all the paint and smiles there was something darker: depression, drug use, and suicide. I took this idea and reinterpreted it to speak this truth into our society, “No matter how much popular culture or the mass media tries to dress up and beautify these people, they are still monsters.”

My goal is to force people to look past the media hype and celebrity masks to see people for what they really are. Much like in George Orwell’s masterpiece 1984, our society wants to be lied to. We want to think that everything is fine when it is crashing down around us. We want to believe the lies and empty promises that flow from politicians mouths. We need to wake up and realize that lying to ourselves does not change reality. We need truth. The truth will set you free, but it will not make you sleep easy at night.

Therefore, by linking monsters to the mask-wearing Marilyn Monroe that Andy Warhol portrayed, I demonstrate that things are not what they seem. They are a mask, a lie, a perversion of the truth to allow people to lie to themselves in order to feel secure.

“Artists use lies to tell the truth, while politicians use them to cover the truth up.”
-Quoted from V for Vendetta