the history of spamelas

 

 

 

Whilst the prodigious artwork of the late Andy Warhol is feted the world over, little is known of his elder sister, Pamela.

 

Unlike her brother, Pamela never left their native Pittsburgh, choosing instead a quiet life as a teacher in a local elementary school. It was during preparations for a second grade art-class that she made a highly significant discovery. Repeated potato prints of her favourite pork-based luncheon meat had smudged and over-lapped, creating a rich kaleidoscope of colour.

As is so often the case, a seemingly random discovery opened the door to a fresh way of seeing the world. Over the years Pamela refined her imagery, adding more and more layers of colour. Each new print was signed off on the back with her 'nom de plume'. She chose 'Spamela' in recognition of the totemic meat-can that had provided her initial source of inspiration.

 

Sadly, after some limited local exposure of her work on the walls of a local Pretzel bar, 'Spamela' faded from sight. Her brother, Andy, however, had taken it all in.

 

After several years languishing in the murky world of commercial advertising, he shot to fame with a stunning exhibition centred on repetitive images of a Campbell's soup can. Pop art had arrived!

That might have been the end of the story, but for a chance discovery of a portfolio of artwork some six months ago during redecoration of an old school-room in Pittsburgh. A dusty and long-neglected portfolio of work was discovered on the top-shelf of the art cupboard!

 

Just three early 'Spamelas' from that portfolio survived in sufficiently good state of repair to merit publication. We are absolutely delighted to have this opportunity to present them to you now.

 

 

The second 'Spamela' in the small collection, a single image of the esteemed luncheon meat-can, is more sombre in appearance. The palette consists a muted green background, a red ring-pull and a barely visible blue cross to the right-hand side.

In many ways this was a harbinger of the 'Electric Chair' editions made famous by brother Andy.

 

 

 

The final 'Spamela' reveals either a surprising presience or an endearing naivety.  For this work, Pamela chose to wrap a tin of luncheon meat in a net she used to clean the aquarium in the school hall where she worked. She entitled this piece, 'Spam Filter'.

 

Whilst the works of Andy Warhol's elder sister will never eclipse those of her world-famous brother they do shed light on one of the most distinctive developments in modern art. As such, these three 'Spamelas' deserve their own place in American cultural history.