Andy Warhol was born within himself, which was born within the very heart of the revolutionary spirit of the 1960s, which in turn was given birth by Warhol's schizo-variagated, kaleidoscopic psychedelia. He revolutionised art and the world by colouring in pictures of celebrities. From an early age, he developed a passion for colouring books and obvious portrait subjects. In his Pennsylvanian home, his parents observed his talent and encouraged him to pursue a life of art. He had a preternatural ability to stay within the lines of his colouring book, even with the bluntest of crayons. Warhol's strict form helped him become established as a venerable artist. His extraordinary ability to keep his colours within a fixed parameter ran contrary to abomination that was Jackson Pollack. A crude affront to Warhol's sensibilities, Pollack practiced a brazen disregard for staying within lines to the extent that no discernible image could be found on his canvas. Warhol felt nauseated at the sight of Pollack's variegated vomit, and vowed to rein colours back into nice, intelligible blobs.
After mastering the art of painting on pictures of celebrities, Warhol turned to film. He masterfully depicted the Empire State Building by sticking a camera in front of it and leaving it run for over six hours. He enjoyed the privilege of being recognised in his time, and his celebrity enabled him to have elaborate cocktail parties, which, if they could be preserved somehow, would also be considered works of art. He is famously quoted for predicting that, "in the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes", and he is also quoted as saying, "man, people, like, need to be free to feel the world vibe, and, like, totally do what you want and be free, maaan". Warhol swaggered art forward in the 1960s by painting tins of soup and saying it was a meditation on consumerism. (Incidentally, I once drew a picture of a giant purple penis in crayon and titled it 'Death of the Penis'. I haven't got my due recognition, but as Nietzsche said, some of us are born posthumously.) He photographed famous people, playing on their sham importance and suggesting that all art is a largely irrelevant contrivance (which it absolutely is).
After mastering the art of painting on pictures of celebrities, Warhol turned to film. He masterfully depicted the Empire State Building by sticking a camera in front of it and leaving it run for over six hours. He enjoyed the privilege of being recognised in his time, and his celebrity enabled him to have elaborate cocktail parties, which, if they could be preserved somehow, would also be considered works of art. He is famously quoted for predicting that, "in the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes", and he is also quoted as saying, "man, people, like, need to be free to feel the world vibe, and, like, totally do what you want and be free, maaan". Warhol swaggered art forward in the 1960s by painting tins of soup and saying it was a meditation on consumerism. (Incidentally, I once drew a picture of a giant purple penis in crayon and titled it 'Death of the Penis'. I haven't got my due recognition, but as Nietzsche said, some of us are born posthumously.) He photographed famous people, playing on their sham importance and suggesting that all art is a largely irrelevant contrivance (which it absolutely is).
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| "Everything is, like, consumerism, maan." |
Warhol was openly gay, and — as we all know — being gay makes you a great artist. Michelangelo was also gay, ergo Warhol was as good as any of the Renaissance masters. They would have made a cute couple, too, but not in Michelangelo's time, where Warhol wouldn't have the technology to make most of his works of art.
Andy Warhol left a notable legacy. He inspired The Dandy Warhols to swag on and be free and, like, live the vibe and don't be a drag, maaan. He also brought artist Jean-Michel Basquiat into the light of fame. When Warhol discovered Basquiat, he was jittery with excitement at how "raw" he was, and he told him that he liked him. "Yes, I like you.", he confessed, "And I'm feelin' so bohemian like you." He insisted on taking a picture of the young artist, upon which he then superimposed a pretty assortment of colours. Basquiat added the final touches, with a thick layer of white paint all over the canvas.
Warhol died in New York City in 1987. His attending physicians described his death as "a masterpiece, an inimitable piece of performance art". He urgently requested those around him to fetch a video camera and film his passing, but none could be found, and the opportunity, like Andy's polychromatic soul, disappeared forever. Perhaps it was better that Warhol passed away when he did. Spent of all artistic inspiration, except dressing in drag and taking selfies, Warhol may well have sought out new talent without creating his own, not unlike Paula Abdul on the judges' panel in American Idol. Warhol's greatest legacy was David Bowie. The English singer wrote what is surely the greatest song ever written about him, the name-dropping classic Andy Warhol, and he even portrayed him in film once. Bowie took after Warhol's style and considers him his greatest inspiration. "He taught me to build a ladder of pretentiousness use it to climb deep into my own hole," he confessed once in article. "Haha! War-hole! Haha!" Their genius lies in being able to consider themselves such important artists that people believe it. And so, time will not erase them, and they will forever be taken seriously by people who like to take themselves seriously.
Andy Warhol left a notable legacy. He inspired The Dandy Warhols to swag on and be free and, like, live the vibe and don't be a drag, maaan. He also brought artist Jean-Michel Basquiat into the light of fame. When Warhol discovered Basquiat, he was jittery with excitement at how "raw" he was, and he told him that he liked him. "Yes, I like you.", he confessed, "And I'm feelin' so bohemian like you." He insisted on taking a picture of the young artist, upon which he then superimposed a pretty assortment of colours. Basquiat added the final touches, with a thick layer of white paint all over the canvas.
Warhol died in New York City in 1987. His attending physicians described his death as "a masterpiece, an inimitable piece of performance art". He urgently requested those around him to fetch a video camera and film his passing, but none could be found, and the opportunity, like Andy's polychromatic soul, disappeared forever. Perhaps it was better that Warhol passed away when he did. Spent of all artistic inspiration, except dressing in drag and taking selfies, Warhol may well have sought out new talent without creating his own, not unlike Paula Abdul on the judges' panel in American Idol. Warhol's greatest legacy was David Bowie. The English singer wrote what is surely the greatest song ever written about him, the name-dropping classic Andy Warhol, and he even portrayed him in film once. Bowie took after Warhol's style and considers him his greatest inspiration. "He taught me to build a ladder of pretentiousness use it to climb deep into my own hole," he confessed once in article. "Haha! War-hole! Haha!" Their genius lies in being able to consider themselves such important artists that people believe it. And so, time will not erase them, and they will forever be taken seriously by people who like to take themselves seriously.
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