Warhol at the Whitney
Authored by Adrian Ormsby
There’s nothing like seeing Warhol in his artistic homeland of New York City and there’s definitely nothing like seeing him at the Whitney, America’s quintessential American Art Museum. Like everything in America, the recent Warhol exhibit is nothing short of BIG. Big on quantity, big on quality and big on SIZE. If there’s one word that sums up Pop Art it is size. Everything is larger than life.
Right away, even as you approach the museum you know it is Warhol and its going to be big, as you encounter the iconic flowers in bright red purple and orange on the approaching wall of the Museum.
Taking the elevator to the top floor you are greeted by the exhibit title, yes in elegant Gold letters (we’ll get to explanation why later), next to Warhol’s huge 35 foot Camouflage silkscreen.
Yes we’ve all seen his Campbells Soup Cans before, eaten them and thrown them in the trash, but their size once again is overwhelming. I just had to get a picture to not only prove I was there but to give you a sense of just how big this art really is.
As you turn to go into the next room, you casually notice the Brillo Boxes tucked away in the corner behind you.
Overwhelmed by the Soup Cans and Brillo Boxes, were it not for an enthusiastic and curious young beckoning teen, I would have missed the entrance off the main room leading to an alley lined by Warhol’s pink cows (who says young millennials know nothing about Warhol). We enter a room full of the iconic flowers.
It is a veritable explosion of color, pink, blue, purple, yellow, green etc. I am such a dummy, I finally understand what Warhol was getting at now with the flowers. It is all about color, BIG, BEAUTIFUL AND BOLD color. Thank you to Andy and the Curators for making this vital modern art educational point without saying or writing a word (worth the flight to NYC just to learn this principle of Pop Art). Once again had to get a picture with the flowers to show you just how big and of course how beautiful, the flowers really are.
This entry will just give you a taste of Warhol at the Whitney and its a definite must-see! For my full account and opinion on the most comprehensive exhibit of Andy Warhol in over two decades anywhere in the entire world (outside the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, that is). Join the DKHG family by subscribing in order to read the entire blog & access digital downloads for scholarly works & documents.
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