Mao

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) created the Mao series in 1972-73 following President Nixon's historic visit to China, which opened diplomatic relations between the United States and the People's Republic. The Mao paintings use the same silkscreen technique that Warhol had developed for his celebrity portraits, applying the image of Mao Zedong from the official Communist Party photograph to canvas in multiple color combinations. The 1972-73 date places the series at the intersection of art, politics, and celebrity—the image of Mao was simultaneously a political symbol, a media image, and a celebrity portrait, and Warhol's decision to treat Mao with the same technique he applied to Marilyn Monroe collapses the distinction between political and commercial imagery.

The Mao series is one of Warhol's most politically charged works because it applies the same silkscreen technique to the image of a Communist dictator that he applied to Hollywood celebrities, collapsing the distinction between political propaganda and commercial advertising. The series demonstrates that in a media-saturated world, the image of Mao functions in the same way as the image of Marilyn—both are reproduced, distributed, and consumed as media images, regardless of their different political meanings.

Mao is Warhol collapsing the distinction between political propaganda and celebrity imagery: Mao Zedong silkscreened with the same technique and bright colors that Warhol applied to Marilyn Monroe. The 1973 painting demonstrates that in a media-saturated world, the Communist dictator and the Hollywood star function as the same kind of image—reproduced, distributed, and consumed regardless of political meaning.