The Warhol Museum

Police Car 1983
Acrylic Silk Screen on Linen

Awkwardly hung somewhere between bellybutton and knee level, this piece caught my eye with its bright, but not particularly complementary, colors and the obvious statement it makes upon first glance. This is a police car.

The gradation of lines, transitioning from thin to thick, in a royal blue against a Barney The Dinosaur purple, screamed 80’s to my 90’s child mind. The angular line drawing of the car and the stylized font used to convey the unsubtle message across the top jumped out to me in graphic “pop.” Simple, yet eye catching, I could picture this image being reproduced multiple times in an array of color combinations while still being able to hold onto the original visual impact. Once again, Warhol has isolated a single aspect of the current culture, removed it from its usual habitat, and made it into a piece of art accessible to anyone, from a 6 year old child to an 80 year old man, who has lived in this country.