More about Rorschach
- All
- Info
- Shop
Contributor
Andy Warhol made a painting that can be whatever you want it to be! "Do-it-yourself" art, in a way.
Rorschach is one of a series of 38 pieces that were modeled after the Rorschach inkblot test. You know, the one psychiatrists have you look at and then tell you how crazy you are based on what you see in the images (not that I know anything about that).
Warhol didn't realize there were already a standard set of ten images in the Rorschach test. He went rogue and created new images of his own by dripping paint on one side of the canvas and folding it in half. This is exciting because Warhol’s schtick for most of his career was to just take an image that already existed and repeat it a bunch of times using screen printing. These are some of the only paintings in which he actually creates his own image... even if he technically stole the idea.
Inkblots have made plenty of appearances in recent popular culture. Jay-Z used this painting on the cover of his book, "Decoded" and Gnarls Barkley appropriately used the Rorschach test as inspiration for his music video "Crazy."
Warhol didn't see anything too outrageous in his own paintings. He never wrote anything about them because he didn't think what he saw would be very interesting to anyone. In fact, he wanted to hire someone else to write about them, saying "All I would see would be a dog's face or something like a tree or a bird or a flower. Somebody else could see a lot more." Warhol was a pretty out-there guy, so we're having a hard time believing that one.
If you see something weird in it don't be alarmed. Since Warhol made up his own test, no one will be able to reveal your serial killer tendencies, urges to kick puppies or the crush you have on your friend's mom. Your secrets are safe here.