A Haul of the Warhol

Even though I grew up my entire life living only about an hour and a half from Pittsburgh, I still had never heard of Andy Warhol. I never visited the city much, but you would think I would have at least heard of the artist, given that he is such a large figure that he even has a bridge named after him, but no. You can read about the bridge and view images of it here.

When my university 101 class decided to take a class trip to the Warhol museum after my professor would not stop hyping up the place, I was very excited, as I enjoy looking at art and wanted to see what was so incredible in his work that made Andy Warhol such a staple and famous artist.

On one of the coldest days in October, we started the very chaotic fifteen minute walk from campus, as different members of my class exchanged “line leader” positions while the rest of us tried to huddle together and stay warm. My professor got split up from our only fifteen person class about halfway through and was so stressed about it, which was very odd to me as we were all legal adults, but I guess we were still his and the university’s responsibility.

Photo strip taken at the photo booth in the Andy Warhol Museum

We eventually approached the museum in one collective unit and got in for free with our student IDs, which as of recently is no longer an option. My friends and I snapped some photos in the photo booth before exploring the seven floor exhibit, working our way from top to bottom, as Andy Warhol’s work was displayed chronologically that way.

The first few floors showcased Warhol’s early work, mainly sketches, and discussed his early life, such as his parents’ stories and what Warhol’s childhood was like. I enjoy when art museums also give historical information on the artist, as it gives more detail and meaning to the art, making you look at it in a different way. I also enjoyed seeing some of the pottery that he collected, along with the several corsets that Warhol wore for support after he was shot.

The museum also rotates some of Warhol’s work in different sets of exhibitions. You can view what is showing at the museum and when here.

My favorite floor included a small room with floating silver balloons that looked like mini blimps. Not much context was given to this display other than we could not forcefully hit the balloons, but I remember leaving so confused at this room, even thinking about it days later. Did Warhol want something interactive as viewers went through his museum? What did the balloons represent? What did it all mean? I could blow up some balloons and put them in a room, but why is it considered art when Warhol does it?

The lower levels contain several different scenes of people displayed in block and almost cartoonish form. I at first was very shocked and kind of creeped out, but I then looked at what body parts stook out from the main wood block and what parts were distorted to no longer look human like. For most of the blocks depicting female presenting people, their chests were pointed forward, which I saw in many of the party scenes, so maybe Warhol was commenting on the objectification of women, especially in the party sense, hinting at things that can happen at these events like sexual assault?

Overall, the Warhol museum left me with many questions about his art and himself as a person, which I think is exactly what you should feel after visiting an art museum.

Check out the museum’s website here.