Warhol at the AGO
What is your first thought when you hear Andy Warhol? I’d say Campbell Soup!
At last, Andy Warhol’s long awaited exhibition opened its doors at the Art Gallery of Ontario on July 21st and I had the pleasure of attending and viewing his groundbreaking masterpieces yesterday.
Andy Warhol was born Andrew Warhola in 1928 (Pennsylvania, Pittsburg) to Andrej and Julia Warhola, who immigrated from Mikova, Slovakia. Brought up Catholic, he attended Church throughout his entire life and was drawn to religious imagery. He took art lessons and studied pictorial design at the Carnegie Institute of technology. Before propelling into stardom, he was considered too effeminate and connected to the commercial world of advertising to be considered a serious artist by fellow artists of the time.
Andy Warhol ventured into many art medium; he was into film making, painting / pop art, performance and installation art. He became a leading artist in the 1960s.
Self - Portrait 1967
Eight years ago, my first reaction to Pop Art was “Are you kidding me? this is not Art”! Brought up old school, I defined Monet, Caravaggio, Rembrandt’s work as Art. Andy Warhol’s? not that much. It is only after reading about the different Contemporary Art movements and visiting Contemporary museums & Art galleries in London that I started appreciating the creativity and statements behind the work of art of many contemporary artists.
Marilyn Diptych 1962
The space is curated around different Art forms as they were embraced by the artists through the years; Hand-Painted and Stencilled Pop, Multicolor Painting and Titling, Gender Identity and language (Ladies and Gentlemen), videography and an Installation art, The Silver Clouds.
The selected Artwork reflect the political and social representation of the last four decades of the artist’s life. From his early Catholic upbringing to New Age American consumerism, Warhol remains to this day at the center of the Pop Art movement.
Furthermore, a common important theme that revolves within the space is Sexuality.
Andy Warhol’s Art celebrates brands and logos introduced to American consumers, shed light the Civil Rights Movement and introduces the start of the the Sexual Revolution.
As a shy gay man, Andy Warhol grew up at a time where sex between men was illegal in the United States. He however, embraced the poets, the queer community, the artists of New York. His 1975 series “Ladies and Gentlemen” raises questions about the Transgender identity and the politics of racial representation. He featured Black and Latinx drag queens and trans women, who were recruited for a fee from local drag bars to pose for the artist’s lens. My favorite is of Wilhelmina Ross, a close friend of Warhol and a leading star in drag theater. She passed away from AIDS in the 80s.
I cannot imagine how hard it must have been for Andy Warhol to be fully accepted by his peers. One might think that might have been one of the reasons why he was not confident of his appearance and wore wigs and make up before being interviewed.
Were these thoughts that made him obsessed with death?
The following are a few of the art in display:
Death emerged as a theme in Warhol’s paintings in the 60s. His fear was heightened when he was shot and critically injured in 1968. Complications from this shootings were what led to his death in 1987.
I encourage you to visit the AGO before October 24th and witness these beautiful work of arts as these pictures and videos do not give justice to the work itself.
Andy Warhol inspired and continues to inspire many emerging artists. One would imagine what he would have created if his life did not end shortly at the age of 58.