by Morgan Mahan
The exhibition at The Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, “Warhol: Fabricated”, shows an array of media and subject matter, all the works as diverse as their creator Andy Warhol. As a viewer, I was drawn to the bright and eye-catching color palette throughout the gallery, and more specifically, the Polaroids, screen tests, and screen-printed wallpapers. In the photos and films he captures such a variety of life that is more personal than the rest of the show, drawing the viewer closer. The wallpapers of Mao and Cow were visually stimulating and, as opposed to the photography and film, force the viewer back to take it all in. Warhol knew how to manipulate not only those around him at the Factory and elsewhere, but also his audience. It seems his work was aesthetically and conceptually what he strived to be personally: attention-seeking and yet, utterly devoid of answers. Though his work can be interpreted in so many different ways, I see it as a reflection of the society and culture in which he lived, a series of snapshots (literally and figuratively) of the world around him. The artist in me wanted to pick each piece apart searching for meaning, but the lack of meaning seems more honest. Wahol liked to say he wanted to be a machine, empty and mechanical. It is hard for the artist to completely separate his or herself from a work of art they are making, as it carries the artist’s identity with it, but Warhol created this sense of distance from his art by making it like a mirror: a mirror not of himself, but of his culture. He allowed the world to look at itself as it existed, but as it had never been seen.
The exhibition at The Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, “Warhol: Fabricated”, shows an array of media and subject matter, all the works as diverse as their creator Andy Warhol. As a viewer, I was drawn to the bright and eye-catching color palette throughout the gallery, and more specifically, the Polaroids, screen tests, and screen-printed wallpapers. In the photos and films he captures such a variety of life that is more personal than the rest of the show, drawing the viewer closer. The wallpapers of Mao and Cow were visually stimulating and, as opposed to the photography and film, force the viewer back to take it all in. Warhol knew how to manipulate not only those around him at the Factory and elsewhere, but also his audience. It seems his work was aesthetically and conceptually what he strived to be personally: attention-seeking and yet, utterly devoid of answers. Though his work can be interpreted in so many different ways, I see it as a reflection of the society and culture in which he lived, a series of snapshots (literally and figuratively) of the world around him. The artist in me wanted to pick each piece apart searching for meaning, but the lack of meaning seems more honest. Wahol liked to say he wanted to be a machine, empty and mechanical. It is hard for the artist to completely separate his or herself from a work of art they are making, as it carries the artist’s identity with it, but Warhol created this sense of distance from his art by making it like a mirror: a mirror not of himself, but of his culture. He allowed the world to look at itself as it existed, but as it had never been seen.
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