The Shot Marilyns - Andy Warhol (American, 1928–1987)

"Warhol embraced popular culture and commercial processes. He eventually set up his own print-publishing company called Factory Additions, issuing portfolios of his signature themes. For Marilyn, he createdten highly variable portraits, exploiting the possibilities in screenprinting for shifting colors and off-register effects. By celebrating the seemingly impervious veneer of glamour and fame, but acknowledging its darker inner complexity, these prints reveal Warhol's subtle grasp of American culture.

"The Shot Marilyns is a work of art produced in 1964 by Andy Warhol. It consists of four canvases, each a square measuring 40 inches and each consisting of a painting of a Marilyn Monroe, each shot through in the forehead by a single bullet.

Warhol actually painted five colored Marilyns in 1964 with different colored backgrounds: red, orange, light blue, sage blue, and turquoise and he stored them at The Factory, his studio on East 47th Street in Manhattan. Dorothy Podber (1932–2008), a friend of Factory photographer Billy Name, saw the recently completed paintings stacked against one another at the studio and asked Warhol if she could shoot them. Believing that she meant she wanted to photograph the paintings, Warhol agreed. Podber doffed her pair of white gloves, withdrew a small revolver from her purse, and fired a shot into the stack of four "Marilyn" paintings, which became known as The Shot Marilyns. (The fifth painting with the turquoise background was not in the stack.)

The Ray Johnson biography How to Draw a Bunny describes this event as a performance piece by Dorothy Podber. After she'd shot the Marilyns and left, Andy Warhol purportedly asked Billy Name to please ask Dorothy not to do that again. Podber was, however, henceforth barred from The Factory for life."

What I love about this Marilyn pop portrait is how famous it become. The simplicity  of his work and the reflection between the turquoise colors. Marilyn eye shadow and the background balance the whole portrait. Warhol shows the  beauty of Marilyn with his amazing shadowing techniques. I see this portrait Everywhere and i can never get over it. True beauty expressed in  very simple pop arty way. 

Sources:

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=61239

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_Marilyns