Friday Night at the GRAM

Thanks to a personal invitation by social butterfly Amy TenBarge, I attended the art teacher outing in GR last night to see the Warhol exhibit (and the new Grand Rapids Art Museum).

The show was magificent and I was struck by the breadth and depth of his work. My mind had reduced Andy to a couple of thumbnails: David Bowie's dead-on rendition of him in BASQUIAT, a poster of multiple images of Marilyn Monroe (I showed this to my second graders once and they thought she was Madonna), and maybe those endangered animals. But, just like anything else, his work is far richer than that, and I recommend that you go. I was fortunate to have Brent there with me, who is very knowledgeable about printmaking, and who was able to greatly enhance my experience through explaining processes and nuances of the work.  

Apparently, Andy began his professional life in commercial art, mostly for women's fashions.

The shoe print you're looking at is embedded with "diamond dust", tiny particles of glass (Paul Simon anyone? are the diamonds on the soles?)

The Martha Graham picture was my favorite.  You know, the debate will never end about Warhol-real artist or opportunist? But you know, he took this famous shot of her and managed to give it back to us in a whole new way.  It becomes more through his interpretation of it.

I viewed these images with Susan L, who is a dancer and a beauty and a kindred soul. I saw her in it.

Tapas at Sanchez and then Jan drove me home through the night city and then through an unforgettable rainstorm. We talked about being older, wiser and happier. It was glorious.

If you can't go to the warhol show, do yourself a favor and look at some art today.