Letter to the World (The Kick) 389 by Andy Warhol is one of three screenprints in his Martha Graham series. This print depicts Martha Graham, the mother of modern dance, performing a fluent kick as part of her dramatic dance entitles “Letter to the World.” Warhol employs pink hues to Graham’s dress endorsing her femininity. The photograph that the print is based on was taken in 1940 by American photographer Barbara Morgan and became the most widely published photograph of Martha Graham. His hand-drawn lines accentuate the unanchored movement of her body and dress and capture the fluidity of movement through a two-dimensional medium
Letter to the World (The Kick) 389 by Andy Warhol as Part of His Larger Body of Work
The portfolio was created to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance in New York. Warhol captures the beauty of a different art form, dance, and replicates its splendor in a still two-dimensional image. The source image for the series was taken by American photographer Barbara Morgan, who was best known for her depictions of modern dancers. This series compliments Graham by showing a variation of her abilities not just as a dancer, but as someone who communicates profound emotion through movement and physical expression. His other screenprints of Graham include Lamentation and Satyric Festival Song, both of which showcase different facets of Grahams emotional and physical depth through her dance.
