New Religion: Wang Guangyi, Apelles’ Line, And Political Theology

As Warhol appropriated posters and prints already ‘ready-made’, Wang Guangyi ‘covers’ Andy Warhol. This essay discusses Warhol and death (Marilyn Monroe, James Dean), mirroring artist and viewer, along with a discussion of Arthur Danto on Warhol and on Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’ (or not Duchamp’s because Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven’s ‘Fountain’) and Wang Guangyi’s New Religion Prophecy. The painting contest between Apelles and Protogenes is read via Ernst Gombrich (and Alois Riegl) on color and depth for the sake of an interpretation of Wang Guangyi’s ‘neonized’ theological aesthetics, including a discussion of political theology via Tracy Strong’s account of Carl Schmitt on sovereignty and Jean Baudrillard on simulation, Jacob Taubes on eschatology, and Ivan Illich’s critique of missionary imperialism.