Storytelling: Climax, Closure & Andy Warhol

Storytelling is the portrayal of an event through the focus of making meaning. A story can be conveyed in various techniques such as in the form of film, photography, text, speech, drawing and/or painting. In the vast majority of cases, it would therefore, seem advisable to propose that storytelling is the interactive art of exploiting formats through revealing the elements & images of a story in order to communicate a message. Works of art often tell stories, however, in certain instances artwork may have no meaning at all. It can be inferred that telling a story through art is dependable, this topic is debatable. To further elaborate, some canvases can just be abstract or for the purpose of home décor. Context, Conflict, Climax, Closure &
Conclusion are the five well-established stages used in storytelling. On the other hand, numerous contemporary artists do not use this conventional technique but prefer to be experimental and/or open-minded. This essay is focused on comparing and contrasting the works of Andy Warhol & Quentin Tarantino, scrutinising the similarities & differences.
Andy Warhol was one of the most prolific and contemporary artists of his time predominantly known for the visual art movement – ‘Pop Art’.
His profound interest in this subject matter is demonstrated through his works. Warhol is an out-standing influence on today’s society and is responsible for many seminal pieces of Pop Art including – “Campbell’s Soup Cans [1962]”, “Gold Marilyn Monroe [1962]”, and “Red Liz [1963]”. Andy Warhol was born on 6 August 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He first attracted attention through screen-printed images which Warhol quickly became synonymous with. In a sense, the flamboyant Andy Warhol was inspired by the essence of life. He was fascinated by America’s obsession with celebrities and consumption generically known as popular culture. Henceforth, through him, a visual movement known as Pop Art was born. Warhol used strong colours to make the images almost unreal. In 1963, he began to experiment with films, he directed over 50 movies which the Museum of Modern Art are now attempting to digitise and show to the public. These were called ‘silent films’ and were shot at the sound speed of 24 frames per second for that cinematic feeling. Some of the many could include “Sleep [1963]”, “Chelsea Girls [1966]”, and “The Nude Restaurant [1967]”. Warhol captured 472 screen-tests. Unfortunately, The Warholstars filmography does not include all of Andy Warhol's 472 screen-tests. In 1968, Andy Warhol was shot and nearly killed. His slow recovery marked
a new period in his work.
On the contrary, Quentin Jerome Tarantino is not a Pop Artist; he is however, one of the most important contemporary filmmakers of today’s modern society, known for his unpredictable, violent films that primarily use a sense of Art to tell the story.
He is known for his dialogue, his directorial style, his use of familiar iconic storylines and adding his own unique slant on them. To put it straight, Tarantino films are basically exploitation films made by an incredibly gifted writer/director, which elevates the exploitation films to the level of high Art. To elaborate, Tarantino exploits his films by using Artistic & Cinematic techniques to his full
advantage.
Quentin Tarantino was born on March 27 1963 in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Tarantino first earned widespread fame for 'Pulp Fiction,' before going on to direct 'Inglorious Basterds' and 'Django Unchained.' Even from an early age he had a deep appreciation for movies and storytelling and with 1994’s “Pulp Fiction” he was able to deliver his audience a thrill ride filled with violence and Popular Culture references. This was only the beginning of his successful debut. Many of his now famous movies include “The Hateful Eight”, “Django Unchained”, and The Kill Bill Series. He uses many Cinematic techniques such as Camera skills along with the mild use of colour correction & grading to relate to the medium of Art.
Quentin Tarantino is like the Andy Warhol of film (even more than Andy Warhol was when he was involved in film). Warhol would borrow the label from Campbell's Soup Cans and transform it into Pop Art. Tarantino's style is to find the gaps in his own film and borrow from other films; maybe pieces of many different styles of film and piece them together to make his own film. Nevertheless, Warhol has influenced today’s Popular Culture society and without the existence of this controversial man life would have nothing to answer for.
In summary, it would, therefore, seem advisable to propose that Andy Warhol & Quentin Tarantino share many similarities and differences within the realm of Filmmaking and Pop Art. Much like Warhol, Quentin Tarantino relies on the fundamentality of today’s common society, what’s popular and what’s not. Or in a more generic term; Popular Culture. These two minds rely on the foundation and basis of modern society; celebrities and consumption, and nudity and violence. These mutual characters are both displayed in Warhol’s and Tarantino’s work and throughout the ages have been the influence of a much larger, yet to come evolving civilisation.