Flash 38 was created in tones of gray and white and features a portrait of President John F. Kennedy. It is part of a portfolio of eleven different screenprints based on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. The piece 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 38 by Andy Warhol as Part of His Larger Body of Work
Warhol continued to use images from the media in his work while using the layering technique more and more to add depth to his images. With this series, Warhol is observing American society including its relationship with the media and its obsession with tragedy, which he continues to return to in later works. He continues to take on mass media in his work by challenging the norms and making people think differently about how they look at the information they are given. With this portfolio, Warhol revisits a subject he has already looked at with the Jacqueline Kennedy prints. However, this time Warhol is focusing on the man himself.
