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Feminine Performance in Andy Warhol’s Shoe Drawings
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Feminine Performance in Andy Warhol’s Shoe Drawings
Andy Warhol was the king of glamour. In both his own life and his advertisements, the idea of feminine performance formed the Warhol myth. Drawing from Judith Butler's famous argument that one is not born a woman, but rather becomes one through repeated acts, I explore how Warhol uses line, camp, and fashion history to create the enticing advertisements that sparked his career.
Andy Warhol, Feet With Flowers, 1956
The Foot Fetish
Dozens of foot drawings, male and female, can be seen in Warhol’s notebooks throughout the 50s, so many in fact that he made a Foot Book containing a selection of his favorite.
"I love it when you ask actors, 'What are you doing now?' and they say, 'I'm between roles'.
To be living 'life between roles' that's my favorite"
-Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol, A la Recherche du Shoe Perdu, 1955
Glamourous
Warhol’s first job in New York was drawing shoes for Glamour magazine.
Below is his first project.
The shoes remain practical, yet playful: all heeled and colored a passionate red. Apparently, a successful woman has a layer of sensuality underneath her professional appearance.
Andy Warhol, What is Success?, Advertisement for Glamour Magazine, 1956
"A drawing is simply a line going on a walk"
-Paul Klee
Andy Warhol,
Men and Women's Legs with Shoes, 1955
Master of Line
Warhol's infamous blotted line technique distinguished his style from other advertisers.
As Klee's quote suggests, curving lines keep the eye moving and add to Warhol's hand-drawn charm and nonthreatening commerciality. This technique would become the integral segue of Warhol into Pop prints.
Andy Warhol, Shoe drawing for I. Miller, 1955
Andy Warhol, A La Recherche du Shoe Perdu Collection, 1955
Performative Personhood
Warhol often drew from his queer identity as well as his infatuation with female celebrity. Images of flamboyant, highly ornamented shoes became Warhol's signature from the mid to late 1950s. The drawings exude with 17th century French court flair, where the term "camp" was first coined. While indeed prominent in queer culture, the idea of camp notably stems from female fashion history, where women have used cosmetics and bodily adornments as symbols of beauty and wealth for millennia.
Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait in Drag, 1981
Viktor and Rolf, Spring 2019 Collection