Speaking Volumes: Remember Andy Warhol’s 90th birthday at your Manatee library
Art is what you can get away with.
Monday, Aug. 6, would have been Andy Warhol’s 90th birthday. The American artist, director and producer spearheaded the pop art movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s with silk-screened works of Campbell’s soup cans, dollar bills and Marilyn Monroe, and his extensive body of work includes photography as well as film.
Warhol lived as an openly gay man during a time when it was not common or safe to do so. He was born Andrew Warhola on Aug. 6, 1928, in Pittsburgh to a working-class family of immigrants. At only 9 years old he began taking art classes at the Carnegie Institute.
Warhol initially pursued a career as a commercial illustrator, but after several successful gallery exhibitions in Manhattan, his reputation as an innovative and controversial artist grew.
He worked out of The Factory, his famous New York City studio where his cast of characters hung out and created together. It was here that Warhol survived an attempt at murder by Valerie Solanas in 1968.
Warhol died in 1987, at the age of 58, leaving behind an estate filled with a vast collection of artwork.
Quintessential Warhol reading begins with his 1975 memoir “The Philosophy of Andy Warhol,” available in both e-book and e-audiobook formats through Hoopla, and free with your Manatee County library card. In it, Warhol discusses his notions of love, sex, food, beauty, fame, work, money, success, New York, America, his childhood, his career, celebrities and much more.
“Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film” (2006) explores the wide spectrum of his life and work as one of the most famous and controversial artists of the twentieth century. Originally aired on PBS as part of the American Masters series, this four-hour film is a cinematic pop-culture extravaganza, featuring interviews with critics, dealers, collectors, and artists and an incredible amount of fascinating footage from the Factory years.
Published by The Andy Warhol Museum, “Andy Warhol 365 Takes: The Andy Warhol Museum Collection” (2004) is a wonderful art book featuring famous and lesser known works. In 1994, The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburg became the repository for both a substantial number of artworks and films, but also his famous time-capsules, in which Warhol obsessively archived ephemera and memorabilia.
“Andy Warhol: Prince of Pop” (2004) by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordon is a well-researched and fascinating read that chronicles Warhol’s rise, from poverty and obscurity, to wealth and status as a 20th century icon.
Don’t forget to dive into the psychedelic world of music from the late 1960’s, including The Velvet Underground’s self-titled album from 1969, available on CD at your local Manatee County Library.
Search for more about Warhol in the library catalog using the keyword “Andy Warhol.” Learn more about Pop Art using the keyword “Pop Art.”
Find out more at mymanatee.org/library.
Kaitlin Crockett is a youth librarian at the Palmetto Library. Speaking Volumes, written by Manatee County Public Library System staff members, is published each Sunday in the Bradenton Herald.