Schnecken, Schlitzmonger, and Poltergeist: Andy Warhol in German—translations and cultural context

Abstract

his paper focuses on the role German translations played in Warhol’s early and unusually wide critical reception in West Germany. Here he had some of his earliest exhibitions and collectors, here his art and films found an exceptionally appreciative audience. His art-historical reception was governed, from the beginning, by the teachings of the Frankfurt School of critical theory, which divided his West German audience into two camps: one that believed his art was Marxist, the other that it was anti-Marxist. This unique reception was key to the chronology and varying quality of the German editions of Warhol’s books.

Keywords

• andy warhol
• frankfurt school
• critical theory
• translation
• artist books
• pop art in west germany