We’re living in an age where influencers on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube hold as much fame as, if not more than your average celebrity. We’re living in an age where “everyone [can] be world-famous for 15 minutes”. We’re living in an age that has been predicted by one 20th century artist: Andy Warhol. Meet the story of this celebrated artist in Korea.
Starting from February 25, Andy Warhol: Beginning Seoul is displaying Andy Warhol’s artwork and photos at the Hyundai Seoul ALT.1 in Yeouido. After visiting this showcase, I was impressed with how the curator of the exhibition has made the best use of the space while staying true to Andy Warhol’s art philosophy.
The exhibition is divided into six sections, each corresponding to different times of Andy Warhol’s life with the artworks grouped into themes. The first section, “FAME: My Love, My Idol”, displays paintings of Andy Warhol’s idols including the famous Marilyn Monroe print and his mother’s portrait. Moving on to the second section, “ICON: New? New!”, visitors can see paintings at the time of Andy Warhol’s rise to fame, with the popular Campbell’s Soup Cans hanging across a long wall. After passing through a dark room projecting Warhol’s flower patterns, we enter the third section, “UNKNOWN & ORDINARY PEOPLE: Portraits of Others”. Here we can see how celebrities flocked towards Warhol as he reached the peak of his fame. A piece of the wall from “The Factory” hangs in a corner while polaroids of visitors of The Factory hang on the other. Now we go through a hallway paying homage to Warhol’s Silver Clouds to the next section, “PASSION: Where We Live In”. This section holds artwork after 1968, when Warhol was shot by Valerie Solanas. These artworks were more political and nature-related, unlike the more pop culture-focused work in earlier sections. The fifth section, “MUSIC: Portraits of Rock”, focuses on Andy Warhol’s relationship with rock and music in general, including his work with Velvet Underground. The last section, “GAZE: Drawing & Interview”, is fairly simple, only covering Andy Warhol’s pencil sketches and his Interview magazine.
The First Influencer
Compared to the colorful previous sections, the last section of the exhibition seems bland. However, I believe it could not have ended better. Throughout the exhibition, we could see Andy Warhol’s rise to popularity and his famous works. The first five sections show the work of the pioneer of pop art in all its glory, but the last section are works by Andrew Warhola Jr. — works of Andy Warhol the person, not the public persona. His public persona — the silver wig and party animal — was all part of his art, while Andrew Warhola Jr. was in fact an introverted artist who just wanted his work out in the world. This very human ending to the giant made me pause for a while at this last section and admire his unknown sketches of everyday scenery more carefully than any other work displayed. It was the moment when I felt Andy Warhol was a human being instead of a symbol.
The structure was not the only amazing part of the showcase. The exhibition also captured the very essence of Andy Warhol’s art. One common theme exists in all of the sections: they are all Instagram-worthy displays. Each section has its own photo zones, and if it was a different art exhibition, I would have hated it — but for an Andy Warhol exhibition? Nothing could have been more perfect. Andy Warhol was known for carrying around his polaroid camera around The Factory to take pictures of celebrities. He immortalized his time by turning everyday objects, political figures, and celebrities into works of art. Don’t his actions sound familiar? Even before the advent of social media, Andy Warhol was the very first influencer, the likes of whom we now frequently see online. In a 1968 exhibition, Andy Warhol once said, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” — a quote that sums up the Internet generation perfectly.
Andy Warhol: Beginning Seoul was a very pleasant and fun experience, the only problem being that it was too short. I would recommend people to come here with friends to make the most of the photo experience. The exhibition will be open until June 27 with tickets costing 15,000 KRW, so if you do have an opportunity, a short visit will definitely be worth your time.