Andy Warhol Museum Visit

Going to the Warhol museum was something I had been looking forward to doing for a long time. I find his style of work, "Pop Art", to be intriguing because of the way it commercialized every day products. Having learned a bit about Warhol in my Contemporary Art class, I thought I would be prepared for what I would see at the museum. Instead I was completely blown away by the larger than life pieces that defined the phrase, "mass production".

Five pieces in particular interested me:

1.) Silver Clouds: This piece consists of a room filled with silver helium balloons that move with the air currents. This dynamic installation creates a blissful environment that is full of movement. What is so different about this piece is that it is capable of interaction with the viewer. Not only can the balloons explore the space of the room freely but they are able to be touched by the viewer.

2.) Flowers: This series of different sized and colored flowers was featured throughout the museum. The one thing each piece shared in common was four large hibiscus flowers on top of what appears to be a background of grass. Each piece had a different color scheme that featured varying solid colored flowers. This piece appealed to me because of its design aspect and its ability to be easy replicated and mass produced.

3.) Typewriter: This piece, that features an ordinary typewriter, interested me because of its simplicity. The work appears to be unfinished; half of the typewriter is painted on the canvas while the rest is only sketched in pencil. This creative approach to answering the question, "What makes something art?" is highly appealing to anyone who has pondered this question before. I myself often ask myself why something is seen as more artistic than others and Andy Warhol attempts to answer this question. He does this by pushing the boundaries between everyday object and work of art.

4.) Frog: One of my favorite pieces, Frog features a contoured line drawn frog with this outline done in white and its body colored red, yellow, and green. The bright colors of the frog contrasted with the dark background and made the frog stand out as a focal point. The messy lines and the fact that the colors were not kept in the lines gave the piece a childlike quality.

5.) Moon Explorer: Created as part of a children's exhibit, this piece features a robot looking creature drawn with childlike ease and the words "moon explorer" on either side. The complimentary colors used in this piece interested me and I felt that they really helped make the piece appear to have a 3D aspect. The childlike lines of the robot and the lettering made me reminiscent of my own childhood.