by Lauren
Harbison
Andy Warhol is a name that when said brings to my mind many brightly colored prints of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy. I viewed Warhol simply as a pop artist that was obsessed with celebrities not thinking much about why he chose his subject; however, upon viewing the Warhol: Fabricated exhibition at the AEIVA my opinion has changed. The exhibition contained a wide variety of Warhol’s work and it forces the viewer to see past the loud colors and deeper into the meanings that Warhol seeks to portray. Warhol was not just obsessed with celebrities, he was consumed with the idea of what a celebrity represented and how we as a society choose to assign value. One piece that stood out to me in the exhibition was the Mick Jagger print. The print captures an ominous looking Jagger. One could argue that the expression is playing into his rock star persona; however, I think Warhol chose to use this particular image because it captures the tragedy that surrounds celebrity life. This further supports the idea that Warhol seemed to have a need to document the destruction that almost always followed with fame. The other series that stood out to me was all the photographs that Andy Warhol took of people in various poses, different angles, and in many different atmospheres. I think that after seeing these images I understood the fascination Warhol had with the culture that surrounded him. I also began to wonder if perhaps Warhol was so concentrated on the culture and the celebrities he portrayed because he wanted to be famous. In retrospect I think it is safe to say Warhol achieved his goal.
Andy Warhol is a name that when said brings to my mind many brightly colored prints of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy. I viewed Warhol simply as a pop artist that was obsessed with celebrities not thinking much about why he chose his subject; however, upon viewing the Warhol: Fabricated exhibition at the AEIVA my opinion has changed. The exhibition contained a wide variety of Warhol’s work and it forces the viewer to see past the loud colors and deeper into the meanings that Warhol seeks to portray. Warhol was not just obsessed with celebrities, he was consumed with the idea of what a celebrity represented and how we as a society choose to assign value. One piece that stood out to me in the exhibition was the Mick Jagger print. The print captures an ominous looking Jagger. One could argue that the expression is playing into his rock star persona; however, I think Warhol chose to use this particular image because it captures the tragedy that surrounds celebrity life. This further supports the idea that Warhol seemed to have a need to document the destruction that almost always followed with fame. The other series that stood out to me was all the photographs that Andy Warhol took of people in various poses, different angles, and in many different atmospheres. I think that after seeing these images I understood the fascination Warhol had with the culture that surrounded him. I also began to wonder if perhaps Warhol was so concentrated on the culture and the celebrities he portrayed because he wanted to be famous. In retrospect I think it is safe to say Warhol achieved his goal.
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