Andy Warhol's exhibition at the hayward gallery opened recently, so I decided to go down and see what was what.
The exhibition was actually really interesting, as i had only really seen some of his pieces at the museum of Modern art in New York and personally I had not known much about Andy Warhol's life. And I'm sure watching Factory Girl doesn't count....
Obviously there is quite a lot of publicity surrounding his work and it goes without saying he is a widely recognised artist. I even remember being told to study him in Art in year 7 (ah memories...). But the exhibition really goes into detail in a very personal way, allowing you to nosey through millions of personal photos (my favourite being the ones where he was applying drag make-up), polaroids and time capsules from Andy's life.
The exhibition is really interactional and features a lot of really rare insights into his work including his films and factory diaries. The show almost makes a point of discounting Warhol's more publicised work by displaying it at an overly high level, as if suggesting it is a by product of his life, which in itself was art.
“Everyone knows the Monroe screen prints and the soup cans. This show will present a selection of other aspects of the artist which together will strip him bare.”
I recommend going to see the show, even if you are not a particular fan or Warhol's work as it is very insightful into his intreuging character. And no one can deny he was that.
The exhibition is running from 7th October 2008-18th Jan 2009 at The Hayward Gallery London.
