Andy Warhol (1987)

Directed by: Kim Evans, Lana Jokel | 77 minutes | biography, documentary

What else is there to say about Andy Warhol? The Slovakian-born American has become such an icon after the Second World War that much of his work evokes recognition in everyone. The Campbell soup cans, the portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Mao Zedong: few artists are given the opportunity to produce such recognizable work. As a documentary, ‘Andy Warhol’ succeeds in sketching a fascinating, complete picture of the man who has been recorded mainly as an icon in the history books.

Because after his first high-profile works of art, which resembled the abstract expressionism of Jackson Pollock and De Kooning at the time, Warhol soon became a celebrity himself who could rank in his own art alongside Monroe and Elvis Presley. He started out as an advertising artist and has always kept a commercial approach, quickly realizing the power of his own image, which was based on his own characteristics such as his great shyness and turned it into an enigmatic icon. His New York Factory studio became an artistic breeding ground of legendary proportions, with rock stars roaming around, aspiring movie stars and a whole heap of drugs. It was also an extremely fruitful time artistically for Warhol, who, in addition to painting, also experimented with making films. However, with the end of the 1960s, the decline set in, with the death of Edie Sedgwick and the assassination attempt on Warhol by Valerie Solanas, in his own studio, as low points.

The 1970s were mainly characterized by what you could call assembly line work with a cynical view; an army of aides who worked out a basic idea for Warhol, who then gave his approval and sold it for a lot of money. That changed in the following decade, when the rise of youth culture on television through channels such as MTV more suited Warhol’s alley than the 1970s, partly due to the collaboration with young artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Julian Schnabel. Yet in this film the question continues to arise: was Andy Warhol an incredibly superficial figure with a fascination for celebrities, a revolutionary artist who held up a merciless mirror to Western society, or just both?

Each viewer will have to form a definitive answer for himself. Fortunately, despite (or perhaps because of) this ambivalence, there is a lot to enjoy about ‘Andy Warhol’. Warhol’s life was one big circus, most of which is well documented, from his painting and experimental films to the often bizarre media appearances he gave. It is easy to fill a full-length film, and combined with the insightful interviews of the many involved and the pleasant voice-over, the documentary is an excellent document about the enigmatic, shy but on the other hand attention-seeking artist. The real connoisseurs may not discover anything new, but for anyone who wants to deepen a basic interest in Andy Warhol, this film is well worth watching.