Lucy and I went for this Andy Warhol exhibition in November last year . We were both excited about it because we loved Warhol.
We were pleasantly surprised to see a long queue outside the exhibition venue. The queue consisted people of all races and ages. It was extremely hart-warming to know that so many locals appreciated Warhol just like us.
The exhibition was pretty disappointing thought. The exhibition hall was small and carried limited number of works (inculding skilk screens of Mao etc.) The place could not contain the crowd and the little intended atmosphere was rudely destroyed. However, when I stood gazing at photos of Warhol documentaing his younger years and late period, I was strangely moved beyond reasons. There was something emotional about staring at these great artists. They set out to change teh world, and by standing there I could already feel the world differently.
Warhol is one of my favourite artists. He does not paint figures like David or Michelangelo, neither does he capture the brilliances of nature like Monet or Cezanne. In fact, his art is nothing like the conventional art. He is not made great by his artistic skills alone. To me. Warhol is almost like a visionary. His works freed up many possibilies for the art scene of America, and the world, during his times. He made so many strong statements about Hollywood, about America and about the modern world. His works are more than artistic innovations but defnitions for our era.
I have the book “Andy Warhol Giant Size” ( which is very thick and quite huge, biggest than A3). The book recorded Warhol’s life and his works. I came across many many quotes that i like (acually I love every quote, realy). I shall share a few here:
“I just happen to like ordinary things. When i paint them, I don’t try to make them extraordinary. I just try to paint them ordinary ordinary.”
“But why should I be original? Why can’t I be non-original?”
“Well, what do you love most? That’s how I started painting money.”
” I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They’re beautiful. Everybody’s plastic. But I love plastic. I want to be plastic.”
“Truman says he can get anyone he wants. I don’t want anyone that I can get.”
