Andy Warhol, Prince of POP

Rating:
Summary: Richie's Picks: ANDY WARHOL, PRINCE OF POP
Review: " 'We weren't just at the art exhibit. We were the exhibit.' "

On Saturday night, October 20, 1973, during my first semester at UConn, I accompanied some of my new friends to an on-campus screening of Andy Warhol's Trash. It is an evening that I will never forget, although its significance has only partially to do with Warhol's raunchy "artistic" film, whose cast was immortalized in Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side."

" 'Scripts bore me. It's much more exciting not to know what's going to happen.' "

On our way to the theater, my friends detoured by way of a subterranean eatery on the south end of campus. Back then, the establishment was still adorned in original '50s dark leatherette, accompanied by chrome, pennants, mirrors, and a soda fountain. Parking me in a corner while they ordered themselves some slices, I zoned in on the radio as the music was interrupted by a news bulletin: President Nixon had just forced Attorney General Richardson and Assistant Attorney General Ruckelshaus to resign after their refusals to fire Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Solicitor General Bork then proceeded to do the deed for Tricky Dick, and I proceeded to experience a surreal evening of having my eyes aimed at a screenful of junkies, prostitutes, and transvestites, while my mind kept repeating hysterically, "No! He can't do that! No! He can't do that!"

(Robert Bork later got his second fifteen minutes of fame, as a failed Reagan Supreme Court nominee, and continues to get an additional five or ten seconds each time I explain to middle school classes the origin of Rodman Philbrick's phraseology, "That really borks me off," when we read them THE LAST BOOK IN THE UNIVERSE.)

But I seriously digress.

" 'Now and then people would accuse me of being evil--of letting people destroy themselves while I watched, just so I could film or tape record them,' Andy said. 'But I learned when I was little that whenever I got aggressive and tried to tell someone what to do, nothing happened. I just couldn't carry it off.' "

In the long run it can be argued that Andy Warhol and his complex life became much larger than his art. But the rise of Andy Warhol was the result of a simple and logical progression.

An artistic son of eastern European immigrants grows up to become a successful commercial artist.

"Pittsburgh was far from New York, but the lessons Andy had learned in his hometown--work hard and work fast--were already serving him well."

A commercial artist is someone who is creating interesting and appealing images of products for sale. And the slight, pale, hardworking subject of this book was an absolute master at it. So when a new art movement coincidentally appeared--Pop Art--that involved the incorporation of everyday objects and newspaper images in paintings, who would have been a more likely person to rise and become the prince of that movement than this true master of commercial art?

And who better to tell the fascinating life story of such a controversial artist and cryptic individual than that dynamic duo of artist biographers, Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan?

"For months Andy had been working hard, trying to find a subject to paint that was both fresh and visually stimulating."

The authors do a terrific job of conveying the tension that filled Warhol's determined quest to evolve from successful commercial artist to successful artist. Without that pivotal transition, of course, we wouldn't be talking about Andy Warhol forty-something years later.

"Eventually he painted a six-foot-tall Coke bottle--the curvy shape reproduced straightforwardly, larger than life, with the seriousness of high art. It was a breakthrough for him. Did he intend the Coke bottle as a still life or a satire on the female figure in painting? Certainly Andy never stopped to interpret his artwork; he was just trying to reinvent himself as a serious artist."

But, what's the story of his choosing the Campell's soup can? How did that happen?

"During this period, Andy fell into a depression. His mother constantly nagged him to send more money home to his brothers and their growing families in Pittsburgh. He felt torn between the financial security of commercial art and his ambition to be a great artist. He lay in bed, suffering from panic attacks. Afraid his heart would stop beating if he fell asleep, he would stay up all night talking on the phone to friends. It was on the telephone that he was most verbal, loving to hear gossip about celebrities and stories of his friends' love lives. Andy begged anybody and everybody for ideas. His friends grew used to hearing him moan. 'What should I paint?' They made plenty of suggestions, but nothing seemed right to him.
"Then one night at a party, he asked his usual question, only to receive an unusual response. Muriel Latow, an art consultant, said, 'I can give you an idea, but it's gonna cost you fifty dollars.' Latow had such a bright, sassy point of view that Andy believed she might well come up with a startling suggestion. He pulled out his checkbook.
" 'What do you like most in the world?' she asked him. 'You like money, you should paint that. And you should paint something that everybody sees everyday...like cans of soup.'
"Andy wrote her a check on the spot."

And the rest, as they say, is history.

" 'Publicity is like eating peanuts, once you start you can't stop.' "

Guiding us through his studio, the galleries, parties, film sets, and multimedia presentations; from his near-assassination to the back room of Max's Kansas City, the authors provide an eye-opening look at the art scene and The Scene that Warhol created and nurtured. Years after his death, Andy Warhol's historic images of American icons continue to play a role in our pop culture. ANDY WARHOL: PRINCE OF POP is an engrossing portrait of the man, his art, and the publicity machine he set in motion.



Rating:
Summary: Engaging biography of an influential artist
Review: It's not every day that one reads a biography so insightful and compelling that one wants to go learn more about the subject. I first encountered ANDY WARHOL: PRINCE OF POP as an excerpt in RUSH HOUR: Volume Two - Bad Boys. The excerpt, covering the central controversial period of Warhol's celebrity in the 1960s, excited me so much that I knew I had to read more.

The rest of the biography does not disappoint. Organized in a linear narrative, the book covers Warhol's life, from his early childhood as the sickly child of Eastern European immigrants to his death at the age of 58 of complications after routine surgery. It organizes each period into thematic chapters filled with interesting anecdotes, pithy Warhol aphorisms, and memories from people who were there at the time.

Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan's extensive knowledge of the subject and in-depth research into Warhol's life make this book a treasure. It includes a timeline, a glossary of unfamiliar art terms, an extensive bibliography of sources, and is heavily illustrated with some of Warhol's most famous works. While intended as a biography for young adults, this book makes Warhol's life, work, and the art of his age accessible in a way that will appeal to readers of all ages.

One of the strongest aspects of the book is the authors' understanding and clear explanations of many of the art movements of the twentieth century. Also invaluable is the authors' illumination of the many processes Warhol used to produce his art, including painting, silk-screening, and experimental film.

It is difficult for biographers to avoid the trap of finding greatness in the origins of their subjects. This book contains many stories about the Warhol being drawn to art at an early age. However, the authors' careful plotting of the transformation of a shy and painfully awkward boy into the international celebrity also suggests that one of Andy's greatest creations was his own image as an artist.

ANDY WARHOL: PRINCE OF POP does not shy away from the racy subject matter of Warhol's experimental films or the raucous entourage he incorporated into his work in the 1960s. It also deals extensively, though not explicitly, with Warhol's homosexuality.

The work of Andy Warhol is so influential that even readers who do not know anything about him will probably recognize his famous paintings of Campbell soup cans, or his celebrity portraits silk-screened onto brightly colored backgrounds. Greenberg and Jordan's book is engaging and thought-provoking. It will undoubtedly set the standard for young adult biographies for years to come.

--- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood


Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended reading
Review: While Andy Warhol: Prince Of Pop was co-authored by Jan Greeneberg and Sandra Jordan with teens in mind, it will also hold a dual interest for adult readers seeking a particularly lively, well detailed introduction to the life and works of ground breaking and innovative American artist Andy Warhol. There are selections of representative art but the strength of Andy Warhol: Prince Of Pop lies in its survey of his controversies, his New York hipster lifestyle, his influences, and his trend-setting achievements. Highly recommended reading, Andy Warhol: Prince Of Pop is so much more accessible than similar treatises which assume prior familiarity with Warhol's art.