Serendipity, 9/22/09

During today’s class we were taken to the exhibits in the Cornell Fine Arts Museum. I must say that my favorite exhibition by far was the one of Andy Warhol-Personalities. One of the reasons for this is because it opened up my mind to a completely different idea of art. We are taught by the principles of “Bourgeois Art”, that is the layman is educated to become an expert so that we can behave as competent consumers. Most art is very pleasant to look it, if not boring. This exhibit was drastically different. This is one of the first times I have thought of mediums such as simple Polaroid’s as even more true art than very well done realistic paintings. Andy Warhol is thought of as a “fame-whore”, one who only was interested in celebrities. It has become apparent that this is not the case. He went against the grain and photographed people who he was drawn to because of their persona and charisma, and is apparent through his photographs. These people are not conventionally pretty, but seeing them through Andy Warhol’s eyes made you believe they were. He quotes “I never met a person I couldn’t call a beauty. Every person has a beauty at some point in their lifetime. Usually in different degrees”. He is completely Post Modern in his way of thinking about women and about beauty and it shows through in his art work. He questions and counters hegemony; even though he photographed beautiful people such as Marilyn Monroe and Edie Sedgwick, he did so because he was enamored with their persona’s even more than their beauty. He photographs people of all different ages/sizes/and backgrounds and essentially bricolages beauty into a new idea.