Andy Warhol – Electric Chair (1964)

The electric chair was supposed to be invented by employees at T. A. Edison’s workshop in New Jersey in the late 1880 s. Edison was in favour of abolishing the capital punishment but meanwhile he thought electrocution would be a better solution than hanging. Consequently, the inventor’s involvement in the chair designing process is rarely found in indexes.

Electric Chair by Andy Warhol is a medium-size canvas screen printed with silver acrylic paint. This unoccupied electric chair is set in an empty room. The chair bears leather straps for feet and hands and a cable can be seen running out from under the seat. A sign that reads “Silence” can be hardly seen behind the chair, which provides a sinister air that blankets all the painting, if possible.

Author: Marta García-Sampedro Fernández-Canteli

Photo: Creative Commons