Flash 33 by Andy Warhol is part of a portfolio of eleven different screenprints based on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Flash was named for all the “news flash” texts that were being broadcast at the time. All of the prints were based on campaign posters, mass-media photographs, and advertisements. The prints were presented next to Teletype text taken straight from news sources. The title Flash – November 22, 1963 represents the date of the assassination and the constant news attention about the event. Flash 33 presents a somber image in different tones of gray, which features the presidential seal a number of times. Also depicted are bullet holes through the seal, which is another representation of the tragedy that had occurred. This act of layering images becomes very common in Warhol’s work.
Flash 33 by Andy Warhol as Part of His Larger Body of Work
This body of work has a clear connection to the work Warhol did focusing on Jacqueline Kennedy. However, now he is focusing on the man himself and the events surrounding his assassination. Warhol’s Flash 33 is an important part of the Flash portfolio because it focuses on the representation of the Presidential Seal, which is the President himself.
