«GEE, THAT'S GREAT!»

IMAGINARY DIARIES OF A POP ARTIST

Feb 12 2005

Sly Stallone gave me an autographed copy of its new magazine. I like the cover. All those articles titles are so great now. «Be your best at 40, 50 and forever» . Gee I didn't know we were living forever. Do we? Watch TV. And it was fun because there was this lady asking: Which line is the best to describe everything? Andy warhol «That's great» or Paris Hilton «That's hot»?

«MUSCLES ARE GREAT;EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST ONE THAT THEY CAN SHOW OFF»-ANDY WARHOL

Photo://musclepride.com

I KNOW YOU WERE FAMOUS BUT I DON'T REMEMBER FOR WHAT

«One fascinating thing about Hollywood is that it's filled with these petite, fragile beauties in their seventies and eighties that you see at all the premieres and things. You can tell they were once really beautiful because they still have that glamour aura around them, and they still hold themselves together really well. But you can't figure out who they are, or what roles they had or how they live today».


-Andy Warhol
America

IMAGINARY DIARIES OF A POP ARTIST

Jan 24 2005

Our new kid at the office is Muslim. He only drinks this new European cola « Mecca Cola». Then glued myself together for my appearance on «The Tonight Show» with Jon Stewart. The crowd is so young and wild there. Some TV producer wants me to have my own Reality TV show. I don't know. Would anybody watch that except fairies and old ladies on Park Avenue?

THE HOLLYWOOD FASCINATION

IMAGINARY DIARIES OF A POP ARTIST

Jan 22 2005

Got invited to Donald Trump wedding in Florida. Everybody there was famous. He really likes to show it off. And his wife is so gorgeous. It's good for her because she's only 22 and he's 60 so he will probably won't have time to trade her in. Botox is great but I don't understand it. Do women really believe that men prefer a 50 year old with Botox to a 19 year old without? How can they be that dumb? Worked on my William Hung portrait.

POST WARHOL PREDICTION;IN THE FUTURE HOLLYWOOD STARS WILL SELL THEIR AUTOGRAPHED POST LIPOSUCION FAT ON EBAY

«MUSCLES ARE GREAT;EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST ONE THAT THEY CAN SHOW OFF»-ANDY WARHOL

IMAGINARY DIARIES OF A POP ARTIST

JAN 18 2005

Some kid brought me Trashing magazine. They say that if you want to be a skateboard artist «you can wear a woman's wig» because (laugh) it worked for Andy Warhol, right?» Watched TV at home. And there was this old lady talking about sex. And she would say things like:« You know just touching someone can raise the level of serotonin in his brain. It does the same effect as Prozac». But I don't understand it. If it's good for your health why do they call it sexual harassement? This cute kid at the office is so funny. He says we should call it sexual harrasment only based on the looks of the two persons involved. If the victim is better looking than the agressor, it's sexual agression. If she's not he 's doing her a favor. He's right. And oh, everyone says vaginal face lift is the new hot trend now. I guess actresss will show their pussy on the red carpet at the next Academy Awards. I mean what's the point of paying that much money for a new bodypart if you can't flaunt it in public. I'm just waiting to see who will be the first to do some Before & After vagina paintings. It would sell well on 57th street.

THE BEAUTY OBSESSION

IMAGINARY DIARIES OF A POP ARTIST

JAN 1 2005

How do you wish Happy New Year to a 95 year old? Went to the office. Worked on my Red Tsunami painting.

POST WARHOL PREDICTION:IN THE FUTURE A GAY MAGAZINE WILL WRITE: HOW TO USE YOUR CANE TO GRAB GUYS 50 YEARS YOUNGER THAN YOU!

THE CELEBRITY OBSESSED CULTURE

IMAGINARY DIARIES OF A POP ARTIST

DEC 18 2005

China just crowned its first Miss Artificial Beauty. Beauty contests are the best. And the names are always great.. «Miss Vietnam», «Miss Vietnam Orange County», «Miss Universe», «Miss Universe Tennesse». Went to the office and worked on my Paris Hilton's chihuahua portrait. She said that if you have a beautiful face you don't need big boobs. What does that mean? I guess it's like all those straight guys who can be bald short and fat if if they're rich or well hung and over 22 if they're gay. The Golden Globes were great because you could se all the drunk and bored celebrities looking at the ceiling. But Nicole Kidman walking on stage is always the best moment of any award show. That «don't even think about it» look when in front of other women. That's the best look. And oh, so many people have their own sex tape now. That's great. That's my new line now: In the future everybody will be «sex taped» famous for fifteen minutes.

SHIRTLESS FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME

IMAGINARY DIARIES OF A POP ARTIST

DEC 17 2005

My «Mustard Race Riot» just sold for 17 millions yesterday. That italian artist Piero Manzoni sold a can of his excrements for some $28 000 in the 80's , so I guess it's all right. And oh, there are so many bleeping on TV now, I guess it just makes people think about four letters words even more. It's like all those red dots or stars covering body parts in porn magazines. Why don't they cover them with «Ad space for sale» dots? Makeover is really the «in» thing now. That's great because it gives women something to do. But I don't understand it. Why don't they just do like gay men? Just dim the light once you're over 25 and never fuck the same person twice. So your fantasy is always intact and you can brag to your friends the next day: «I had sex with a gorgeous 19 year old last night»

NO GREAT ART WITHOUT RELIGION

«Supporters of the arts who gleefully cheer when a religious symbol is maltreated act as if that response authenticates their avant-garde credentials. But here's the bad news: the avant-garde is dead. It was killed over forty years ago by Pop Art and by one of my heroes Andy Warhol a decadent catholic. The era of vigorous oppositional art inaugurated two hundreds years ago by Romanticism is long gone. The controversies over Andreas Serrano, Robert Mapplethorpe and Chris Ofili were just fading sparks of an old cause».

-Camille Paglia

WARHOL AS WRESTLING FAN

THE LAW OF ATTRACTION

«The most exciting attractions are between two opposites that never met».

-Andy Warhol

POST WARHOL PREDICTION: IN THE FUTURE AN AMERICAN MAGAZINE WILL WRITE:«IS HILLARY WARDROBE LOOKING TOO FRENCH TO GET HER ELECTED?»

«GEE, THAT'S GREAT!»

PHILOSOPHY BOOK FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: WOMEN & PLASTIC SURGERY: THE END RESULT

Now so many women looks the same in Hollywwod this is really what Warhol used to call the beauty monopoly boredom. And actually it has often the opposite effect. Because when you see a woman trying so hard to look young you immediately think; Gee, she's trying so hard she must try to hide that she's really old. So while it's actually a 60 year old actress trying to look fifty, you think: she must be at least 75..

«I NEVER MET AN ANIMAL I DIDN'T LIKE» -ANDY WARHOL

MERGING AT THE TOP

«I learned working for Andy that there isn't really the separation people think there is between society, the art world, the corporate elite, the European aristocracy. As you go higher up the social scale, they all kind of merge».

-Bob Colacello
Interview magazine editor
1970-1983

POST WARHOL PREDICTION:IN THE FUTURE AN HOLLYWOOD TRADE MAGAZINE WILL WRITE:«HOW TO FLASH YOUR NEW 19 YEAR OLD VAGINA TRANSPLANT ON THE RED CARPET

ANDY WARHOL AND THE RISE OF OUR CURRENT FITNESS CULTURE

«I became very good friend with Andy Warhol and used to hang out at the (Factory) Studio in the 70's because he was a big believer in bodybuilding and (like other hip celebrities) helped get bodybuilding out of the dungeon to make it a hip activity to do».

-Arnold Schwarzenegger

WHAT'S LEFT: HIGH CULTURE IN THE 21 ST CENTURY

High culture definition: 40 year old gay man writing for 30 year old people stories about 60 year old artists cheating on their 50 year old wifes with 20 year old students.

THE CELEBRITY CULTURE OBSESSION

THE REASON BEHIND THE POPULARITY OF GOSSIP ABOUT THE RICH & FAMOUS

«I don't think everybody should have money. It shouldn't be for everybody-you wouldn't know who was important. How boring. Who would you gossip about? Who would you put down? »


-The philosophy of Andy Warhol

POST WARHOL PREDICTION: IN THE FUTURE FEMALE TEACHERS WILL TEACH WHILE POLEDANCING TO KEEP COLLEGE MEN INTERESTED IN SCHOOL

«MUSCLES ARE GREAT;EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST ONE THAT THEY CAN SHOW OFF»-ANDY WARHOL

T-SHIRT OF THE DAY:

Saw some guy wearing this t-shirt today: A picture of a girl poledancing. And...«I support single moms»

«ATHLETES ARE GOING TO BE THE NEW MEDIA STARS»

LESS IS MORE

«In the post-Warholian world the more of us are in this, the less of this there is for us. First, 15 minutes, then 15 seconds; finally 1.5 nano units all dedicated to nothing. In point of fact what it all amounts to is 15 less things truly worth thinking about with our time».

-Todd Holden
Pop Matters
Sept 18 2007

«GEE, THAT'S GREAT!»

HOW BRITNEY SPEARS CAN REALLY MAKE A COMEBACK!

The disastrous performance is over and...drag queens are having a great time already. So what's the solution? Stop attracting a fan base of 8 year old girls and follow the Madonna and Justin Timberlake road by attracting a huge 20 to 40 something gay male fan base. And voilà!

THE HOLLYWOOD FASCINATION

BEAUTY AND SEX

«Beauty doesn't have anything to do with sex. Beauty has to do with beauty and sex has to do with sex»


-Andy Warhol

THE BEAUTY OBSESSION

POST WARHOL PREDICTION;IN THE FUTURE A COSMETIC COMPANY WILL LAUNCH «HIGH MAINTENANCE VAGINA CONTOUR CREAM»

«MUSCLES ARE GREAT;EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST ONE THAT THEY CAN SHOW OFF»-ANDY WARHOL

COWBOYS

«I always thought cowboys looked like hustlers. That's nice. Cowboys and hustlers are quiet. They don't know many words».


-Andy Warhol
America

WARHOL À LA LAWLER

Photo: Louise Lawler

POST WARHOL PREDICTION:IN THE FUTURE A WOMAN MAGAZINE WILL WRITE: HOW TO MINIMIZE YOUR EXPRESSION LINES WHEN FINDING YOUR MAN IN BED WITH ANOTHER GUY!

MADONNA ET l'INFLUENCE KEITH HARING

Quel est le secret de la durée de Madonna au sommet depuis plus de 20 ans? On a remarqué déja dans son cas une meilleure compréhension de l'importance de l'image photographique que nombre de jeunes chanteuses telles Britney, Shakira ou compagnie. Or ces images rappelant le glamour Hollywoodien d'antan que Madonna a su au fil des ans cultiver sont absolument nécessaires à la construction d'un mythe durable. Mais surtout ce que cela nous dit c'est que cet élément pointe directement vers ses débuts et sa proximité d'avec le monde de l'art du New York du début des années 1980 et tous les jeunes artistes gravitant autour d'Andy Warhol. Avec ce tout cela suppose de leçons apprises en regard des notions de rupture, d'avant-garde, de deuxième degré ou de réappropriation.

À cette époque Madonna eut un moment une relation avec le peintre Jean Michel Basquiat. Mais c'est surtout son amité avec un autre peintre Keith Haring qui allait s'avérer déterminante. De cette amité avec Haring elle dira plus tard." Nous étions comme deux oiseaux rares dans un même environnement... J'ai toujours apprécié le travail de Keith parce qu'il y a beaucoup d'ironie dans son travail jumulé à forte conscience du monde comme il y a beaucoup d'ironie dans le mien". Sans aucun doute l'admiration était mutuelle. Lorsqu'elle épousa Sean Penn en 1985 Madonna recu entre autre comme cadeau une oeuvre collaboration de Keith Haring et Andy Warhol. Un cadeau qui il va s'en dire a passablement gagné en valeur depuis...

Haring devait mourir du sida à 31 ans en 1990 après avoir laissé une quantité impressionnante d'oeuvres derrière lui. Quant à Madonna on connaît la suite. Aujoud'hui encore on retrouve plusieurs similitudes. En effet tous deux ont parfaitement maitriser l'art de jouer sur plusieurs tableaux en même temps. Haring issu du tout début de la culture Hip Hop dessinait des graffitis dans le métro New Yorkais, se passionnait pour le break dancing, préférait dessiner pour les enfants que s'ennuyer lors de dîners donnés en son honneur et aspirait à être pris au sérieux par le monde de l'art et des galleries lequel mis un certain temps à le faire. Le critique d'art Robert Hughes le qualifia même à un certain moment de simple «décorateur disco». Madonna elle fut taxée à ses débuts ne ne faire que du «Bubble Gum pop» même si déja elle aspirait à une carrière artistique d'importance et n'a jamais caché son ambition démesurée. Aujourd'hui sa façon de jouer sur plusieurs tableaux fait d'elle tantôt l'adepte de la Kabbale qui se rebaptise Esther, tantôt celle qui s'adonne au revival disco voire celle qui lorgne du côté du «statement» aristocratique Britannique.

Au fil des an Haring et Madonna ont fait abondamment usage des thémes et imageries sexuelles dans leurs oeuvres. Pour un Haring a toujours dit que la seule pulsion qu'il ressentait plus fortement que l'art était celle de la sexualité. L'imagerie sexuelle dans son oeuvre est parfois débordante de joie et d'énergie ou alors fortement marqué de l'ombre du SIDA qui battait alors son plein. De son côté bien qu'elle prenne aujourd'hui ses distances avec un certain passé, la Material Girl des débuts faisait amplement de même. Il y a eu un obscur film xxx intitulé «Un certain Sacrifice". Puis les photos nues prises en 1977 que Playboy et Penthouse publièrent en 1985. Se succèdèrent le livre «Sex» en 1992 puis nombre de vidéos ou provocation, sexualité et religion se mêlaient allègrement, le tout cuminant avec le Jésus noir de «Like a Prayer».

Tous deux également ont partagé un intérêt commun pour les hommes noirs et latinos. Une relation marquante de Keith Haring fut celle qu'il eut avec le DJ Juan Dubose. Pour Madonna on pense bien sur à Carlos Leon ex- entraîneur personnel et compagnon et aujourd'hui père de sa fille Lourdes. Aujourd'hui Keith Haring ( à qui Madonna dédiait un de ses spectacles dans le film True or Dare) demeure une influence importante. Mais il y en a une autre à ne pas négliger. Comme bon nombre des grosses pointures à Hollywood tel Jack Nicholson, Madonna est une grande adepte des oeuvres de Tamara De Lempicka. Or cette peintre fille d'aristocrates russes était résolument d'avant son temps et sa réputation d'aventurière sexuelle de même que ses oeuvres art déco d'une forte sensualité contribuèrent à faire d'elle une figure controversée de l'art de la première moitié du vingtième siécle. Au fil du temps son oeuvre a traversé diverses périodes d'oubli et de redécouverte l'une d' elle étant l'usage que Madonna fit de ses oeuvres à l'intérieur de certains de ses vidéos. (Son spectacle Cio Italia en 1987 s'ouvrait sur «Open Your Heart» et une oeuvre de Lempicka)

Depuis ses débuts Madonna a toujours flirté de près ou de loin avec le monde de l'art. Tout comme elle n'a jamais caché son admiration pour nombre d'artistes. Dans son cas ce qui est intéressant est qu'elle a su en retour se gagner l'admiration de bon nombre d''artistes dit «sérieux» généralement peu enclins aux accolades envers ce qui est issu de la culture pop. Pour un le grand peintre mexicain Alberto Gironella empruntant à la métaphore surréaliste la qualifiait de «beauté convulsive» allant même jusqu'à dire qu'elle était la dernière des surréalistes. En plus bien sur d'en faire le portrait.

POST WARHOL PREDICTION:IN THE FUTURE HOLLYWOOD STARS WILL SELL THEIR ORGASMIC MOAN TONE TO VIDEO CHARACTERS HAVING SEX

«GEE, THAT'S GREAT!»

ANDY WARHOL & THE RISE OF 21ST CENTURY CELEBRITY GOSSIP CULTURE

«Everybody says...fantastic things.People are always putting it down as an invasion of privacy but I think everyone should be bugged all the time...bugged and photographed».


-Andy Warhol
Giant

EVERYTHING AND NOTHING

«Most artists are born to be opinionated but Andy was like no artist I have ever met because he was for everything and nothing at the same time».


-Ed Ruscha
Andy Warhol
Giant

WARHOL AND THE BEAUTY OBSESSION

GUS VAN SANT ON WARHOL

«It's kind of crazy when the other artists from that time are falling off. No one wants to know about William Burroughs any more but with Warhol there's even more interest that when he was alive. I think it's his ability to make work that relates to today. His visual art seems like a «souped up» version of appropriation and appropriation influences so much in contemporary art».

POST WARHOL PREDICTION: IN THE FUTUR WOMAN MAGAZINE WILL WRITE: IS THE GAP BETWEEN YOUR NOSE AND UPPER LIP ONE MILLIMETER TOO WIDE?

«MUSCLES ARE GREAT»

AN ADVERTISING HE WOULD HAVE LIKED

«Turn off CNN and Turn On Active Duty. Watch our military men have fun for a change. Six full lenght videos per week/24 per month. No bombs here».

www.ActiveDuty.com

POST WARHOL PREDICTION:IN THE FUTURE HOMELESS PEOPLE WILL BE OFFERED CREDIT CARD TO BUY LEFTOVER FOOD FROM TRASH CAN

ANDY WARHOL AND THE PORNOGRAPHY QUESTION

«Personally I loved porno and I bought lots of it all the time, the really dirty exciting stuff. All you had to do was figure out what turned you on and then just buy the dirty magazines and movie prints that were right for you the way you would go for the right pills or the right can of food»


-Andy Warhol
Giant

ANDY AND THE 21ST CENTURY IDEA OF FAME

Photo: www.time.com

POST WARHOL PREDICTION:IN THE FUTURE A COSMETIC COMPANY WILL LAUNCH «CALVES SCULPTING GEL».

PHILOSOPHY BOOK FOR THE 21ST CENTURY:BUSINESS VS LITTERATURE

I guess the reason why young people are reading more about business and less about litterature is more simple than we think. I mean reading about great books is reading about dead people and reading about business is reading about people still alive. I guess that's why if you're 20 you don't want to read about dead people that makes you think about it, you just want to wear a punk t-shirt with a skeleton and not think about it.

LA PHILOSOPHIE EN MARCHANT: DE KANT À WARHOL

Les longues promenades on le sait ont plusieurs vertues. Elles apaisent, permettent d'aérer l'esprit ainsi que de mieux canaliser son energie. Sans compter qu'elles ont toujours été prisées des penseurs. Du philosophe dit sérieux à cet autre artiste qualifié «d'idiot savant du monde de l'art». Kant ne ratait jamais sa promenade quotidienne à 5 heures. Warhol lui arpentait très souvent soit Madison Avenue pour y distribuer son magazine Interview ou encore s'adonnait à ses promenades et visites au marché aux puces. Vive la philosophie en marchant.

T-SHIRT OF THE DAY:

«F.....ME BEFORE MY BOYFRIEND COMES BACK»

POST WARHOL PREDICTION: IN THE FUTURE 100% OF SHAREHOLDERS WILL APPROVE CREATING FAKE WARS AND FAKE NATURAL CATASTROPHY TO BOOST STOCK'S VALUE

«MUSCLES ARE GREAT»

GETTING A 15 SECONDS OF FAME

«Andy Warhol predicted everyone would be famous for 15 minutes, but visitors to an Edinburg exhibition are being offered just 15 seconds in the limelight. They will feature in a display of the pop artist's portraits of stars such as Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and Elizabeth Taylor.

Images of members of the public will be «Warholized» and projected on to a big screen outside the entrance to the National Gallery on the Mound»

-News.scotsman.com
August 30 2007