The works of our century are mirrors of our predicament produced by some of the most sensitive minds of our time. In light of our predicament we must look at works of contemporary art, and conversely, in light of contemporary art we must look at our predicament. - Paul Tillich in "Every period has its particular image of man"In his last self-portrait, Andy Warhol's gaze is both perplexed and disconcerting. Like the artist, everything in this work is suspended in a veil of mystery. Warhol probably didn't expect this to be his last personal reflection, but it's hard to imagine him treating himself differently even if he had known. Warhol treated everything the same. Cool detachment was as much a trademark of Warhol as Campbell's was of soup. Warhol's composure has often been interpreted as cynicism, and it implied a certain distance, but only because of a perceived need for self-protection. The apparent contradiction of Warhol's Self-Portrait, and indeed of his work as a whole, is that he expresses himself without revealing anything about himself; he is both alienated and alienating himself. There is virtually no person in America whose life has not been affected – whether they know it or not – by the way Warhol transformed our understanding of our culture. There is certainly no serious artist working today who has not been influenced by Warhol's conversion of the mundane world of consumer culture into the sacred realm of art. We see ourselves and our world reflected in the mirror of Warhol's art, but the image is not yet fully in focus. By the time he painted this last Self-Portrait, Warhol had become the most famous artist in the world; but more than a decade later, his art remains enigmatic. Warhol began...... middle of paper......." Just as Christ transformed common bread and wine into holy sacraments, Warhol transformed everyday imagery into art. The popularity of Warhol's work is a reflection of our own thirst for transformation, like all art, it raises questions: are we hungry enough to accept everything that is offered to us? every mind,” should we filter Warhol was so hungry for something divine that he too readily accepted substitutes for the only thing that would satisfy him Considering the unsavory association with Warhol, ours? answer to the last The question could be yes Perhaps Campbell's soup was nothing more than a commercial substitute for a spiritual hunger But the spiritual sincerity and artistic complexity of his later works suggest that faith. and the art of Andy Warhol cannot be so easily dismissed..