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Friday, July 11, 2008

Warhol the Eternal

posted by on July 11 at 11:00 AM

If artists can be judged according to how long they live on in cultural memory, I’m putting my money on Warhol. He’s never going to disappear; he only spreads.

My first interaction with dozens of his works at once was in a castle I stumbled upon in Lausanne, Switzerland. (The basement gallery was reserved for his drawings of shoes; the upstairs levels ranged from flowers to Marilyns to the far less seen Last Suppers. I was in undergraduate paradise.)

In his latest iteration, in a group exhibition called Andy Warhol and Other Famous Faces (culled from the collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his family foundation), he’ll be appearing on the edge of a bluff in nowheresville, Washington.

This (or its equivalent, which in Warhol’s case is perfectly acceptable)

angelsbottom.jpg

will appear here

maryhillmuseum-S.jpg

If you visit, don’t miss Maryhill’s stonehenge replica. Warhol would have loved it.

RSS icon Comments

1

My earliest, haziest, possibly reconstructed entirely from my mother's stories memories of art are about Andy Warhol. When I was very small, about 2 years old, my mother used to take me to all the museums in DC and in the modern art museum they had some Warhol soup cans (the bigger ones, not the smaller ones). I used to love those paintings and demand to see them every time we went to the museum. Once, we went and they weren't there. I threw a tantrum.

Posted by Abby | July 11, 2008 11:14 AM
2

But after a gazillion knock offs, Andy Warhol is PLAYED OUT. Is there anything interesting left in his work? That's the thing about pop culture, it's omnipresent, and then incredibly boring almost immediately.

Even his materials and mediums (like house paint, screen printing) were never meant to last. I think if he was alive, he'd be laughing his ass off about how much we worship his images.

Posted by Westside forever | July 11, 2008 11:59 AM
3

If you think that knockoffs ruin Warhol's work, then you never understood Warhol in the first place. Ironically, for me, he becomes more original the more he's copied.

Posted by Jen Graves | July 11, 2008 12:09 PM
4

Warhol is God and the work is still powerful and important.

The Disasters and Electric Chairs are fucking brilliant and haunting.

Posted by michael strangeways | July 11, 2008 12:41 PM
5

@1, I was EXACTLY the same stroppy child when the Mao at Art Institute of Chicago went on loan!

@2, you were pwned by @3. I can also assure you that if he were laughing that we bought them, he'd be doing so whilst counting every. Single. Penny.

@4, you are correct and do not discount the shadows series, either.

Posted by Jubilation T. Cornball | July 11, 2008 12:55 PM
6

and the Diaries are hee-larious!

Posted by michael strangeways | July 11, 2008 1:20 PM
7

Jen,
You're right the Stonehenge replica (not exact but the same dimensions) is totally cool. I was just there about a month ago. It's actually a WWI memorial to Klickitat County soldiers killed in that war. It was put up by a local Quaker-pacifist named Sam Hill who is buried about 60' away from the monument. It's at Maryhill State Park near the museum where the Warhols are to be exhibited. And, for astronomy buffs there is a free public observatory in nearby Goldendale. It's also Washington wine country. Gorgeous area. Check it out.

Posted by lark | July 11, 2008 1:25 PM

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