 |
| YouTube Andy Digital print on aluminum 60" x 80" |
After leaving San Francisco and returning home to Santa Fe something made me think of Andy Warhol and I found several documentaries about him on YouTube. For the next couple of days I worked on images inspired by the video but was mostly inspired by his unapologetic attitude about his art. As critics analyzed, criticized, and scrutinized his work, he seemed totally oblivious (publicly, at least) to the art world's opinion.
When asked why he copied things instead of creating something original, he said “Because... this is easier.”
When someone suggested “So you're just playing a joke on everyone?” he responded “Uh, no... it gives me something to do.”
I grabbed a video frame in the YouTube player and made four panels, each one 40" wide and 30" deep. Next they’ll be digitally printed on aluminum with a high gloss finish to simulate viewing video on a computer screen. Then they will be assembled together to create a single piece that measures 80" wide and 60" deep.
If Andy Warhol was still with us, would he be working digitally? I think so. If critics didn't like that, he would probably have a typical Warhol reaction of “So what?”
So, when someone says to me “You’re copying instead of creating something new,” I can say “So what? It gives me something to do.” Besides, Andy never put a red progress bar on his images.
