Warhol Exhibit

The Andy Warhol exhibit at KAM opened my eyes to a new side of Andy Warhol. When I think of his work, I imagine bright colors, icons revealing a face or image that has been modified from the original. However in this exhibit, the use of Polaroids and silver gelatin prints are raw. I felt that the subjects in the photos were exposed. As printed in the Warhol booklet, “everybody becomes a celebrity” through the method of capturing portraits with a Polaroid camera. To be honest, I didn’t recognize many of the “identified” people at first because of their makeup and natural facial expressions. When I went through the exhibit, a woman near me said how frightening she thought some of the celebrity women looked. We are accustomed to seeing smiling, airbrushed faces. Yet Warhol captures moments that aren’t the most glamorous. I would argue though that there is a natural beauty and unique human nature quality that shines through.

I was especially attracted to the “unidentified people” because I felt that those people represented the average man or woman in their element. The black and white image of the unidentified man with a camera around his neck caught my eye. The man is looking away from the camera with his hands in his pockets as if just taking a moment to himself. I think it’s difficult to capture everyday moments. Further this selection of photos no doubt allows more people to relate to the celebrities or unidentified people but definitely to those that are not known. This photographer or man with a camera has a background story that doesn’t necessarily come through the image. I think the audience can decide who he is or where he is going. Maybe that isn’t even his camera…he may be holding it for a friend, looking off into the distance wondering when he will return.

Andy Warhol’s Polaroids and Portraits was not was I expected but I think I needed to see this side of his work to gain a greater understanding of how he became such a famous artist.