Monday, June 8, 2009

A Hall of Warhol . . .

There is just so much going on in life these days, I hardly know where to start. There is a huge amount of material waiting in the wings to come on stage here, each day I would like to do about 25 posts for you all, and each day the reality of time and life result in my having to carefully choose and prioritize, which is not always easy for me, as some nights I'd just like to roll on and on, going down the road with all of you good people, sharing stories, trading tales, showing pictures of it all, but sooner or later the goddess of sleep calls, and I must submit.
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Just a few short days ago, la Grenouille and Mr Toad went into Paris in our motor car, and parked not far from le Grand Palais, where there is an exhibition going on through the 13th of July of Andy Warhol's art. We spent a couple of hours taking in that vast collection of portraits and other works that Warhol produced (in prolific quantities) over the years, through the 1960's and 1970's. I have to admit, I found alot of the portrait prints a bit repetetive, and got tired of the fairly limited pastel color schemes quickly, but there were some enjoyable surprises in the show, and anyone who really likes Warhol's work would no doubt be thrilled to get in there and have a look around. So, get in your cars, trains, planes, yachts, and come on over to Paris to check it out.
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There was an entire wall of a repeated cow face, for example, that I found quite charming. As no photos were allowed in the expo itself, I did this shot of a pile of books in the shop on our way out. It is not too far removed from the effect on the wall in the show. . .
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This is another image from the museum shop, hence the barcodes over Marilyn's face here :
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Finally, one image that really grabbed me were these four skulls (I purchased a post card of this one), which any Grateful Dead fan could relate too . . .
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29 comments:

ArtSparker said...

Isn't there something rather amusing about the fact that people are not allowed to take photographs of images that Warhol appropriated and altered?

SquirrelQueen said...

It sounds like a very interesting exhibition, and while I am not a big fan Warhol did some interesting works.
Thanks for following, I look forward to more of your post.
SQ

desi said...

Andy Warhol was a really REALLY freaky character...

and he bugged Jim Morrison repeatedly to play a role in one of his 'Movies'. But Jim was not going to fall for that one..

Steve said...

I'm sure Warhol would have approved of the barcodes!

Nathalie said...

I don't mind the bar codes - in fact they almost seem to add an extra message about consumerism to Andy Warhol's work, I think it works beautifully!!!

I'm not a huge skull fan but I enjoyed the multiple cows:
Maybe the work should be called "La Vache qui ne Rit Pas" (same red as La Vache qui Rit, eh?) - great fun!


J'aime beaucoup l'expression "la grenouille et Mr Toad"
:-)

Nathalie again said...

I was quite shaken by your "vanishing point" post yesterday.

You're obviously as good as a video game hero - you lose a life but get up again with still a few more in store. How amazing.

I had a serious car accident as a passenger when I was 15, a DS against a 2CV, a typical French accident in the mid-seventies.
My mum was driving, I was the front passenger. Our DS was wrecked but none of us 5 in the car was injured. The guy in the other car spend 3 months in hospital (he had no seat belt and was ejected).

I spent years after that pressing an imaginary brake when another car came from the right (it was a case of denied priority).

Haven't had a serious accident since.

Most of the experiences you describe are related to youth dangerous driving. Ah, boys and cars! A stressful age for mothers...

J said...

I agree with Nathalie, the barcodes actually seem to work quite well in the images.
I can't comment on my own blog (oh, China!), so the reason there were so many couples doing their wedding album was because it was a holiday weekend, the Dragon Boat Festival. There was a bit of a 'production line' atmosphere, with couples and their photographers waiting rather impatiently for the best spots to free up.

The Sagittarian said...

Hope you've still got wine in Paris cos I'm on my way...........mainly to toast poor Yorick, I knew him well.

William Evertson said...

A while back I googled Warhol's popularity for a post and and came up with the following equation -
Warhol = (Johns + Rauschenberg) x 5.68

Yasmin said...

Hi, still don't know if I like Andy Wahol a lot.
I like the multiplicity and of the vibration of the colors but the repetition of the same images tires me a little....

Loulou said...

Lucky you can go to the ongoing Warhol exhibition! Lucky, lucky you!

You have more than the RIGHT to be busy busy busy, and away from this blog and we ask you to do that!

See you soon, tak ecare
Loulou from Delhi

Catherine said...

That final shot is just so Mexican..did he ever come here for inspiration. damien Hirst has recently been very inspired here and the exhibition of his work really worked in DF

Owen said...

Art Sparker, yes, odd indeed, Warhol lifted images from many sources, transformed them, to make new "art"... yet now for us to photograph his work would be copyright infringement. Odd world. I hope no one comes after me for reproducing these few images here ! Well, it's not for monetary gain, just general interest, so hopefully the Warhol image police won't mind.

Squirrel Q, thanks for dropping in, come back anytime, friends of squirrels are always welcome here... I agree, I'm not a fan either. I went because I was hoping to see some of his early photography, but there was almost none of that work in the expo. He did a series of car wreck photos very early on that are quite powerful I think. But the hundreds of pastel manipulated portraits of well known people don't do much for me. One work in the expo had over 100 faces of Christ all identical in long rows... not my cup of tea at all... but beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

Hi Desi, I was thinking of you when I did this last night, I recalled you had commented earlier when I mentioned having gone there. Hmmm, I wonder what Morrison thought of Warhol's work ?

Steve, Agree, I imagine he would have done some barcode art if he had lived a little longer...

Hi Nat ! Glad you survived the car wreck unscathed, and I totally understand the brake pedal reaction that lasted a long time. Too bad for the 2CV and driver... love 2CVs, in fact am going to post one here very shortly, maybe tonight. Glad you like those cows, I do too ! MMMmmooooooo ! (That's a cow laughing)

J., Interesting remark you make there, do you mean to say that blog communications in China are monitored in some way ? Big Brother is watching ? Or did I misunderstand ?

Dearest Sag, I'm sorry to report there is no more wine in Paris... the Watercats and their friends came over for a long weekend and drank it all, which may be why they reported having a splitting headache... (see link to Watercats in list of Fun/Fascinating blogs at right) but you are welcome to come anyway, there is still some Calvados and Armagnac at hand ! :-D

Bill, jeez, how do they get the 5.68 ??? That sounds like the meaning of life = 42 in the Hitchhiker's Guide...

Mundo, the repetition definitely got to me about one third of the way through the expo...

Hey Loulou from Delhi, I guess "Lucky" is relative... there are many people elsewhere in the world who would love to come to Paris, while many people in Paris would love to go live somewhere else for a while... like in Delhi ! Would love to experience what you are seeing every day, and go on a photo day with you out there. I would love to go to New Zealand too, the Sagittarian who commented above here is a lucky soddess in my eyes !!! Always a pleasure to read you here...

@ at all of you who may read this, please do go check out Loulou's magnificent photos in India and Egypt at her two blogs. I am firmly convinced she is going to be "discovered" one day soon, and become a very well known name in photography... her work is extraordinary !

Hey Catherine, hope all is well with you in Mexico, heard there was a little trouble in Acapulco this week... wow, that may put a damper on a few vacation plans...

jeff said...

In french : Salut Andy !
J'aime beaucoup ce sacré Andy ( of course ) et je te livre ce qu'il disait de lui-même et de son art :
"Si vous voulez tout savoir sur Andy Warhol, vous n'avez qu'à regarder la surface de mes peintures, de mes films, de moi. Me voilà. Il n'y a rien dessous."
Je trouve qu'il y a beaucoup d'humilité et d'égo exacerbé dans cette phrase ! Non ?
Tu as bien de la chance d'être vers la capitale cher Owen !...

Bon ,alors... J'en suis resté à ton message d'hier... et prend soin de toi cher Owen ! ! !
In french : Nous avons tous un destin et c'est comme ça !... Un ange gardien... va savoir ?!?

Ciao Pixelpot ! A bientôt !

Je repasserais pour ....;')

Sarah said...

Hi, just wanted to thank you for visiting me :) I did go to a Warhol exhibit in Boston many many years ago...still undecided what I think!!

Batteson.Ind said...

Have never seen a Warhol exhibition, but from what I can tell, when you've seen one of his works you've sort of got the idea. I suppose, like a lot of artists, he had the balls and the fortune to be in the right place and know the right people and be in the right time to get away with it. I can admire that as being as much a part of the art as the actual art. Like the moo's.. you can't go wrong with cow pictures :-D

Owen said...

Hi Sarah, welcome, welcome, the more the merrier... well, maybe some day you'll decide ?

Salut Jeff, maintenant que j'y pense, les transformations de photos de visages de femme que tu nous livres et tête de page de "Life Is" sont presque un peu Warholiennes en aspect... je n'ai pas fait l'association jusqu'ici. Mais chez toi, je suis plus que persuadé qu'il y a quelquechose sous la surface. Un drole de bonhomme ce Warhol... A bient^t...

jeff said...

Bon, allez... au lit ! C'est l'heure ! J'avais dit que je repasserais !...
En fait de surface, as du surf, ace fr us... il y a toujours quelque sous la surface... une autre surface !... Ouhlala ! Je me suis embarqué dans un truc que je ne maîtrise plus du tout...!
Alors Bonsoir Owen... et prends soin de toi !
A bientôt !... Ciao pixelpot ! ..;')

Lynne with an e said...

I saw a Warhol exhibit in Montreal last summer and it was surprisingly personal and oddly interesting. Wasn't a Warhol fan at the time of Warhol but can appreciate him in retro. Creepily, his wig was on display under a glass case. Is there one in the Paris exhibit? All the album covers he designed; opera & ballet covers for magazines & performances; letters, videos, and a room full of deflating hydrogen-filled silver balloons with a taped modern dance performance that was unintentionally hilarious. In fact, the whole thing bordered a bit on the hysterical side. But I quite enjoyed the Velvet Underground strobe-lighted room with music and videos blaring. Rather a fun couple of hours. Pas plus.

Owen said...

Hey Watermeowsters, I agree with you, a little Warhol goes a long way, however, there was a bit of variety in the show, and yeah, the cows got my vote as the the best of it... but then I've always liked Cow Art... for examples, go into the "Labels" list at right side of my page and click "Bob Wreck" and "Blanche Stirrat Paintings"... enjoy... would be curious to hear your opinion on Bob Wreck's Nuclear Cows...

Jeff, you're back, je savais qu'il y avait, une surface, une face sur de Warhol, une facade de surf, une facile surfeit, oh là là, moi aussi, je m'y perd, mais bon surf à toi au bord de la mer, la mere serf,,, où est le *beep* ???

Hi Lynne,
Mmmm, sounds like your Walhol show was far more complete or extensive than the one in Paris, would have liked to see more variety, I know he did more than just 500 very repetitive portraits. They did not have his wig on display, but there were quite a number of photos of himself dressed in drag; which I found a little depressing, as he didn't seem to be enjoying himself while doing it... I mean, what's the point of cross dressing if you look totally unhappy doing it ??? And we had no silver balloons either...
Ciao Louciao !

Caio Fern said...

hi Owen . i think i understend what you feel about the posts , yes , sometimes i feel like to post 100 pictures or more and let people handle with it. but then i put myself into theyr skins and think that would be exaustive to show so much so fast.
sure that your case is diferent , it is other material.
about the exibition ,i saw thousands of his exibitions already ,and today i think it sucks , i cant look for it any more . but i remember the first time i went to see him.i had a very good impression , it was much better than i imagined. it has a very good pictoric value (what for me is important) .
ok.... thanks for droping by my blog , i apreciate a lot.

Owen said...

Hey C.Fernandes, thanks for stopping in here, can appreciate that tastes change over time, personally I wouldn't pay to see any more of his work... I'm sure there's plenty out there on the net already...
Ciao !

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, not so sure about Andy Warhole.

I'm a Vermeer fan,

GG

Lyn said...

Love Warhol..what a visionary..what a jokester!
..I live 2 blocks from Warhol's brownstone..been empty, for sale here in NYC for ages..if you're interested, get on a plane or boat or bike or subway..take a look, ya never know!!

Owen said...

Hey GG, I'll go with you to the Vermeer museum any day, I'm not going back to see any Warhol any time soon...

Hi Lyn, that does sound interesting... I wonder if he left any art hidden in there ??? Be right over... LOL

Loulou said...

Namasté Owen! Thanks but that's too much! India is so photogenic (see my comment on the Barbie India section), so I don't really deserve such enthusiasm!
have a wonderful day
Take care
Loulou

Owen said...

Ah Loulou, modesty, modesty... your work is worth all of that and more... !

SP said...

Really interesting posts as always, this one particularly caught my eye as I was gallery hopping in Paris this weekend too! I missed seeing Warhol but opted for the Jazz show at Musee du Quai Branly which is well worth a visit - album covers, vintage film and lots of crazy jazz inspired art... The William Eggleston show at Fondation Cartier is very disappointing though. Have you seen either?

Owen said...

Hey SP, hope you are having a great time in Paris ! I love the Quai Branly museum, but have not seen the jazz expo yet... their permanent collection is out of this world though. Have not seen the Eggleston either... thx for the heads up. Don't know how long you have in Paris, or how many times you've been in the past... it is such a smorgasbord. I love the Picasso Museum, Gare d'Orsay, les Catacombs, and on and on... looking forward to more photos from Paris signed SP!