What is it that seemingly draws generation after generation to Warhol? Warhol, much like his timeless artwork and his own ability to reinvent himself, seemingly takes on a new meaning and new context with each passing generation. His popularity growing and growing as new eyes enjoy his prolific artworks and output. The latest limited-time series on Netflix provides an intimate account of the artist. His highs and his lows. His relationships with those closest with him. And a glimpse into the mind of one of the most influential artists of all time.
One does wonder what Warhol would make of the incredible footage, narrated by an AI version of himself, who was so famously obsessed with repetition and mechanisation. Indeed, back in 1982, Andy Warhol was, somewhat infamously, turned into a robot. The machine was made by a Disney Imagineering veteran for a project that never really took off, but Warhol liked his animatronic self. “Machines have less problems,” he once said. “I’d like to be a machine, wouldn’t you?” The artist, who died in 1987, was a master of his own cult of personality, and the robot was practically a manifestation of how the world perceived him: meticulously crafted, if a bit rigid and monotone in his conversational style.
The series is partially narrated by an AI reading the stories that the artist told diarist Pat Hackett. The voice sounds just like Warhol—and then you remember the voice the world knew was always a flat and robotic one. Warhol’s work is about questioning iconography and surface-level appeal. He kept his voice flat to maintain that image, to hide how much heart he actually put into it, Rossi says, adding “when he spoke, he continued this superficial performance that was also part of the way he dressed and the way he made art.”
Throughout the show, which we very much enjoyed, we couldn’t help but wonder what Warhol would have made of social media where a voice is given to all and a chance for 15 minutes of fame is within our reach. Would he stand up as an influencer and trendsetter for the Tik-Tok generation? Let’s examine the facts… Warhol, through his infamous pop-art portraits of celebrities, could be seen to pioneer the selfie. And who hasn’t seen legions of young and old alike taking photos of their food to upload for likes? Warhol’s notorious Soup Cans and the fun video of him mechanically eating a hamburger certainly tick the boxes for being part of the social media must-dos. Likewise, would his brilliant Endangered Species series make him a social justice warrior firing off 240 character retorts with hashtags on Twitter? His Studio 54 parties = a prototype for pop-up parties and events for those exclusively in the know. Finally, and somewhat more lewd, his series of graphic prints of male genitalia - a precursor to the dick pic we wonder?
What really comes across is an intriguing portrait of a shy and insecure man who wanted to embrace life and make his mark on the world. At times frustrating, at times sad, the Netflix series brings Warhol, as much a brand as a man, to life. Whilst the series is a limited time release, watch it while you can we stress, conversely the subject appears very much the opposite - an artist for all time.
Sadly cut short by Covid, the West End show starring Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope at the Young Vic ‘The Collaboration’ was met with a brilliant critical and commercial reception.
Set in New York in 1984 a fifty-six-year-old Andy Warhol’s star is falling whilst Jean-Michel Basquiat is the new wonder-kid taking the art world by storm. When Basquiat agrees to collaborate with Warhol on a new exhibition, it soon becomes the talk of the city. As everyone awaits the ‘greatest exhibition in the history of modern art', the two artists embark on a shared journey, both artistic and deeply personal, that re-draws both their worlds.
Whilst somewhat contrived, the play is fun, imaginative and wildly entertaining. We think, in a way, Warhol would have not wanted it any differently… Explore more Andy Warhol content at Andipa Editions in our recent article on authenticating Warhol
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