Self-Portrait Poster Andy Warhol, American [1928-1987] Warhol, a pioneer of Pop Art, used easily understood, secular "symbols" of mass society as motifs, unlike Abstract Expressionism. While incorporating the structure of advanced capitalism – mass production and mass consumption – into his art, his work also conveys a certain cynicism towards this historical context. A thesis and antithesis are mixed in a single work of Warhol's. As he became famous, his own existence also became a secular "symbol" of mass society, but Warhol continued to focus on the "universality" within the mixture of opposing elements.