Pop Goes The Soup


Thirty-two, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, each 20 x 16″. Overall installation, with 3″ between each canvass panel is, 97″ high x 163″ wide — artist: Andy Warhol 1962

 
Evidence of soup can be found as early as 20,000 BC, with the invention of waterproof clay containers for boiling, by the use of hot rocks — a method used to cook acorns and other plants. The earliest archaeological evidence for the consumption of soup dates back to 6000 BC, and it was hippopotamus soup.

The word soup is from both the French word “soupe”, meaning broth, and from the word “suppa”, a Germanic word — from which also comes the word “sop” (bread used to soak thick stew).

Interestingly, the word “restaurant” springs from a 16th French word “restaurer”, referring to a highly concentrated, inexpensive French soup, sold by street vendors. In 1765, a Parisian entrepreneur opened a shop specializing in such soups. This prompted the use of the modern word restaurant for the eating establishments.

In the US, the first colonial cookbook, published by William Parks in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1742, included several recipes for soups and bisques. A 1772 cookbook, The Frugal Housewife, contained an entire chapter on the topic. German immigrants, living in Pennsylvania were famous for their potato soups. In 1794, Jean Baptiste Gilbert Payplat dis Julien opened an eating establishment in Boston called “The Restorator”. He became known as the “Prince of Soups”. The first American cooking pamphlet dedicated to soup recipes was written in 1882 by Emma Ewing: entitled “Soups and Soup Making”.

In 1869 fruit merchant Joseph Campbell, and commercial canner Abraham Anderson had a simple idea to make food that was good, trusted, affordable, and available to the masses. Campbell Soup Co was born. Americans eat more than 10 billion bowls of soup each year.

In 1962, Andy Warhol turned the Campbell soup can into an international icon of Pop Art, with an installation featuring thirty-two, synthetic polymer paint on canvas — every flavor of Campbell soup. The most popular soup variety in the U.S. is chicken noodle.


”Self Portrait” artist: Andy Warhol

andy shoots his soup
lou and nico go velvet
quant makes it mini
lichtenstein makes the girls cry
all while goes the culture

*
rob kistner © 2022

Poetry at: dVerse


Tanka backstory:
~ Andy Warhol creates his famous Campbell soup can art.
~ Lou Reed and Nico partner in the famous band, Velvet Underground.
~ Mary Quant creates her controversial Mini Skirt.
~ Roy Fox Lichtenstein creates his two famous “Crying Girl” artworks.(see below)




artist: Roy Fox Lichtenstein

20 thoughts on “Pop Goes The Soup”

  1. Rob, what a wonderful history of soup and how you segued into Andy Warhol, which lead to your rich tanka. David live singing Andy Warhol was the perfect dessert to your post. I learned a lot from this and got a lot of enjoyment out of it also.

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  6. This is a delightful history of how we got to ‘soup’ … a staple in many lives! Well done, Professor.. well done.

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  8. I think soup may very well be the origin of much cooking… thank you for this history… one of our kings is said to have been murdered by poisoned pea-soup

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  9. You rocked the prompt with this one, Rob. Actually I think you wrote it! Thanks for sharing the background and origins via this entertaining haibun. Have to admit it’s fun to pick out all the favourites in the first painting, although it seems many of them I’ve never seen here in Canada.

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