Andy Warhol - Why Was He So Different? | Biographical Documentary
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- Andy Warhol is one of the most instantly recognisable artists of modern times. From the late 1940s until his death in 1987, he produced over 9,000 paintings and sculptures and nearly 12,000 drawings. He also made hundreds of films and had a profound impact on the art world by forcing it to decide…. what is…and what isn’t… art.
He achieved global fame, wealth and cult status as the King of Pop Art within his own lifetime, but behind the glitz and glamour of his celebrity-filled world was a man who struggled to navigate the uncertainties and complexities of everyday life.
In this documentary we explore the life and mind of one of the most iconic figures of the 20th century. Part One focussed on his early years and his rise to fame as a successful commercial artist in the 1950s. This second part focusses on the full flourishing of his artistic talent in the 1960s, the day he almost died at the hands of one of his former associates and the shadow this cast over the rest of his life. We will also explore the many theories about what made Warhol so different from everyone else around him.
Finding Out More:
There are several excellent biographies of Warhol: The Biography by Victor Bockris, Warhol by David Bourdon and Warhol by Blake Gopnik. There is also his kind-of autobiography Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again first published in 1975. There is also a fascinating website run by Gary Comenas that is full of conversations and recollections about Warhol warholstars.org. I have added the biographies and some of his films to my Amazon store page: www.amazon.com....
Academic References;
Harris, James C. "Before and After and Superman: Andy Warhol." JAMA psychiatry 71.1 (2014): 7-8.
Lania, N. (2015). Andy Warhol: Marginalization, childhood illness and performativity in portraiture. Art Journal, 2015(1), 4.
Copyright Disclaimer:
The primary purpose of this video is educational. I have tried to use material in the public domain or with Creative Commons Non-attribution licences wherever possible. Where attribution is required, I have listed this below. I believe that any copyright material used falls under the remit of Fair Use, but if any content owners would like to dispute this, I will not hesitate to immediately remove that content. It is not my intention to infringe on content ownership in any way. If you happen to find your art or images in the video, please let me know and I will be glad to credit you.
Images:
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh
Museum of Modern Art
Wellcome Collection
Music
Cheap Velvet Elvis - Antti Luode CC3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
"I'm Waiting for the Man" by The Velvet Underground - Fair Use via Wikpedia
"Venus in Furs" by The Velvet Underground - Fair Use via Wikpedia
Thomas Tallis - Videte Miraculum - The Tudor Consort CC3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Sweet Pipa Of Mine - Antti Luode CC3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
All other tracks CC0 via RUclips Music
Andy Warhol said "art is anything you can get away with." It is, and he did. This was a wonderful presentation Graeme. Thanks so much.
I think that definitely applies to his oxidation paintings.
@@professorgraemeyorston - Or half baked internet videos for that matter.
A testament to human stupidity rather than what constitutes art.
I majored in Art about a gazillion years ago. We had to watch a Warhol movie. It was a camera at street level pointed upward at the corner of a multi-story building.
The only movement was a fly walking back & forth across the lens.
When the fly took off so did I.
His early films aren't the most entertaining!
Am I the only one who just gets a huge "the emperor has no clothes" vibe with artists like Warhol ???
No ? Only me...🤔
I think that can be said about a lot of modern, especially conceptual art.
Warhol was not concerned about acceptance.
You have company. Just ugh!
@@stevenhanson6057He should have been mostly concerned about talent. Giant fraud.
And yet, one of the top three most important artists of the 20th century along with Picasso and Duchamp. What didn’t he diagnose and make visible about capitalism, celebrity, and death? Genius colourist, brilliant compositions, always a critique of his times, radical political queerness, radical inclusivity, changed cinema, changed painting, changed culture. You won’t find a serious artist or art historian who thinks he’s naked. You’re probably not the only one who gets that vibe, but only because you’ve been lead to believe that art is only about nice feelings or making pretty representational pictures like AI can generate now (which is the real “no clothes”) - that’s just an artisanal skill like fine carpentry. It’s a skill some great artists have, like Michelangelo, but there’s a lot more to Michelangelo’s artistry than that. Michelangelo’s artistry can be seen on a ceiling, the most important work of the Counter-Reformation, which itself was a commissioned advertisement by the Catholic Church against the whitewashing Puritanism of the Protestant Reformation, but Warhol’s “ceiling” was / is the media and commercial landscape of post-war Capitalist America : television, fashion, NY galleries, consumer products, advertising, etc. and because you are in it, you can’t even appreciate all the influence his celebration and scathing critique of that moment has obtained. It’s the water you swim in.
As a fellow sufferer, I diagnose Andy as a hugely high-functioning Aspergers
That's what I think.
I agree...
Brilliant. Warhol, and you, my Dear.
Thank you kindly
Fantastic video but I will never understand the enthusiasm for his art. Thank you for making such wonderful video available to us.
Glad you enjoyed it! I like his art, but I wouldn't pay $190 million for one.
I've been waiting for part 2 and as usual, you did not disappoint.😊
Thank you.
Great vid. You can see Andy's influence everywhere now. Even his quotes are like little works of art. Cheers.
Very true!
His life itself was his art.
Warhol ,a magician of color,could unveil uncommon images out of the ordinary.
I agree - his best work revealed something more about his subjects.
Enjoying your analysis videos. Please consider doing one for Sylvia Plath. I've read her journals and find her to be fascinating both professionally and personally.
Thanks, I'm planning one on Sylvia.
Thank you Professor, I really enjoyed this. I feel like you enjoyed your research too. He was such a unique person with contrasting good and bad qualities. I definitely think he made a massive mark on art, film, culture and New York City. I never liked him while he was alive, but the minute that I heard that he died felt like a sucker punch to my gut. One day I saw his book THE Philosophy of Andy Warhol, From A to B and Back Again and I enjoyed the humor in that book so much. I have quite a collection of books on him now, seen a few shows and enjoy his vibrant artwork. I'm in agreement with you, I think he did not have narcissistic personality disorder. I think he had quite a strong personality and that he was quite secure in himself. New York isn't like it was in his hey day but it was a very vibrant and quirky place for many years. Now it's just scary and out of control with no joy if you ask me. I think you are right about the possibility that he was on the autism spectrum. Thank you again for your wonderful presentation. A suggestion for a future subject:Theodore Roosevelt
Thank you - I would have loved to have met some of those 60s movers and shakers. Interesting suggestion about Teddy, I've been reading a little about him in connection with Carnegie.
You mentioned that you aren't an art historian. I think it's precisely for this reason that I feel that I learnt more from this and your previous presentation on Andy Warhol than many of the other appraisals I've previously watched.
Your perspective is so refreshing and shows the depths you go to in researching your topics. I recently watched the Frida Kahlo one which I found equally fascinating.
I'm sure there are many artists that would be great subjects of your analysis. I'm guessing you like to examine individuals whose art represents some psychological issues they might be harboring.
Francis Bacon's art seems to suggest there's some strange stuff lurking beneath the surface. Mark Rothko also springs to mind as a candidate for your unique viewpoint.
Thank you, yes I'm trying to add a fresh perspective on the lives of these seemingly familiar figures to show how mental disorder has had such a profound influence on art and literature. MR and FB are both on the list!
@@professorgraemeyorston Very much looking forward to these and others!
Thank you very much for your explanation on autism. I'm sick of seeing it defined by its "deficits". Your words on the condition are very helpful.
As a doctor who sees people who are having problems it is taken me a long time to fully understand that many autistic people don't go anywhere near a doctor!
@professorgraemeyorston And those of us who do don't make the best experiences... when we seek help for possible comorbitities suggested treatment might apply to non-autistics but fails to help autistics whose coping mechanisms work differently. Thank you for your willingness to learn about us.
I never really paid much attention to Warhol but having an insight ino the artist himself has made me curious about hisork. Coming from an autistic family myself, with an autistic son, Warhol's behaviour was totally relatable!
Andy is the rare odd individual who lands in the absolutely perfect moment in time.
That's an interesting way of thinking about it.
That's true weird but true
I don’t like Warhol, but found your video enlightening. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it and I hope it makes you consider taking a fresh look at his work.
@@professorgraemeyorston I'm curious whether you have Lord George Gordon Byron, Jackie Gleason or Orson Welles on your list of possible video subjects?
I thought at times Andy was a bit over the top ,but neverless very influential upon me personally as a young artist and photographer and a true genius. Eisenhower high school A.I.S D. Northwest Houston Texas. Texas State University, San Marcos, Austin texas.
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Excellent. The concluding segment hit me like a thunderbolt. Not having read any bios I'd never considered the possibility of a spectrum disorder, although, as a RPN, I work with people on the spectrum. Beyond this revelation, watching this was a lovely way to spend a suburban afternoon's hour.
Thank you, I like to entertain and then gently challenge!
I always enjoy your presentations. Was looking forward to this one on Andy. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it
Wonderful as always. I’d really be interested in your opinion on the Beales of Grey Gardens. I think you may find the original documentary fascinating. Thank you
I'll take a look thanks.
The best thing about a picture is it never changes… Andy was the POP ART movement!
Whatever about Warhol himself, it is difficult to separate the trend in 20th century art from a need to project the artists psyche on the world around him/her. The obsession with displaying everything from peculiar ticks to obsessive habits to sociopathic thoughts is almost de rigeur within the Avant Garde and Warhol was the most open exponent of the trend, continuing in the work of Gilbert and George and the Chapman Brothers.
Do you think he projected his psyche? I see him more as someone who simply reflected what he saw and didn't put a lot of himself in it.
@@professorgraemeyorston
Perhaps the fact that he omitted himself from the narrative, remaining an observer as it were, is the key to his pathology. Modernity, with its narcissism and obsession with the self is, and of itself, a pathology of the modern mind. The fact that he drew so many unstable people around him should proof enough of the toxicity he reflected.
I think you are absolutely right! And that probably was the reason he surrounded himself with beautiful and talented people.He DID know how to sell himself tho😏@@professorgraemeyorston
@@billyo54perhaps that’s just because there are indeed many people who are unstable? Are they unstable or just alternative? Today this instability is evident on social media and the internet.
Thank you so much. I work with neurodivergent students. It has brought me so much peace in understanding the world and others I admire. Can you maybe do Anais Nin or Henry Miller.
Great suggestions.
Two people who had Chicago in common and who are fascinating enigmas are the photographer, Vivian Maier, and the "outsider artist," Henry Darger. They had something else in common: Vivian Maier's work was discovered only after her death, and Darger's when he was on his deathbed.
When a curator from one of the great Chicago galleries visited Darger several days before his death, he blurted, "Mr Darger, why have we not heard of you until now? You could have been worth millions!"
Darger: "Too late now!"
Interesting, thank you.
Truly dug this. Such a comprehensive bio/analysis. Thank you for this study.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I loved him as a person and his artwork.
He was unique.
Warhol appears to me to have done so much with so little. 'Audacity' could describe his work.
Extremely well presented documentary.
Glad you enjoyed it.
I was always intrigued by this man. Even though I hate his art, I always wondered what his psychiatric profile could be. Thank you for your video professor!
Glad you enjoyed it.
great overview of a difficult subject - the Warhol Experience
Thank you.
Part II was even better than Part I. Thanks Graeme. My pick for the next artist would be either James Joyce or Monet
Thank you, great suggestions.
Without doubt a fantastic insightful and informative overview l was enthralled , thank you so much RNK
Thank you.
So the Andy and mom photo @29:56 is by the great Duane Michals, highly regarded for his exploration of very personal and existential themes easily shifting between serious and playful presentations often with handwritten notes on the finished photo surface.
Thanks for that.
Thank-you very much for this part 2. I enjoyed it very much. BUT. Sadly, there's no mention of Fran Lebowitz...
I couldn't include everybody. Fran wasn't a fan of Andy, but she wasn't the only one.
As a Pittsburgh area native (home to a museum dedicated to Andy), he doesn't seem disordered at all ..typical of people here...or maybe we're all disordered.
I do appreciate your biography...I've heard a lot about his exploits in the 60s and 70s, but little about his life in the 80s.
Great presentation, as always! May I make a request - Anne Sexton. Truly remarkable poet but a tragic life. Thank you!
Thank you, great suggestion.
I think Capote nailed it - a sphinx without a riddle.
Truman had a way with words!
@janii$
A sphinx is a riddle.
@@nomadicroadrat I was quoting Truman Capote.
Thank you so much!
You're welcome!
overlooking his Eastern European sensibility and mistaking it for autism perhaps (trauma is unexplored in your "analysis") all in all, great presentation
We don't know how much of the supposed "Eastern European Sensibility" is due to heritable factors and how much to upbringing, but even if it exists, it is really quite different to autism.
I am oversimplifying this. It is just an arbitrary comment on a pseudosocial platform.. I should also be mentioning the mother wound though. From a psychological and psychiatric standpoint, the concept of generational trauma is pivotal in examining a person with his background and whom one never met-the emotional and psychological challenges inherited from one’s mother are evident. The experience of emerging from war-torn regions often carries substantial emotional burdens, hence the "Eastern European Sensibly." This is compounded by the erasure of personal and cultural identity, which can be particularly profound for individuals born into families with limited English proficiency. The process of self-invention becomes a means of survival and a way to establish a legacy, ensuring that one’s existence is acknowledged and remembered. This narrative encapsulates the struggle for identity and the need for recognition in the face of adversity and displacement. It highlights the importance of understanding and addressing the deep-seated emotional scars that can span generations. Warhol was most certainly not autistic.
Untalented people who successfully pulled the wool over the eyes of blind people. Ghastly art!
I'll add them to the list.
Thank you Dr. Yorston, this is the video I've been waiting for and I was not disappointed. I'm a huge Warhol fan, I think his influence on modern life is profound. But then again, as Andy himself said "Art is a man's name"...nothing is art and everything is art.
Glad you enjoyed it.
This was really great!
Thank you.
Would you minds looking into these visual artists? Francis Bacon Jackson Pollock. Otherwise no problem could be a suggestion for down the line.
New subscriber.
Great channel.
Thank you.
Welcome aboard!
Andy Warhol was a GENIUS Absolutely.
TY ❤
I was looking out for this too, but real life overtook me so missed it last week.
Only really knew about him because of the Velvet Underground and an art teacher at school who really rated him. She took us to London in 1989 to see an exhibition of his work. It was pre Tate Modern but I remember it was somewhere on The Embankment.
Nice teacher.
@professorgraemeyorston she was yes, Miss Williams. She always was very encouraging of me in art and told me to go into art as a career.
Your profiles go into greater depth of most of the people you profile than most, and include factoids I’ve never heard and pics I’ve never seen. This is no different.
I was struck by your thoughts on Warhol’s possible psychological disorder or autism and how that is now considered a common aspect of creative people but was previously thought of as abnormal.
When I was in college 50 years ago, I knew someone who worked at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric clinic, and he met a researcher who was studying the prevalence of manic depression among artists. Hemingway and Van Gogh were exhibits A and B. He said you could chart their mood swings in their art by the colors and brush strokes in Van Gogh’s works and certain passages in Hemingway. Before that it was generally agreed that Van Gogh, for example, had some serious psychological problems and the gloomier the colors, the more upset he was. But no one then attributed it to a specific strain of disorder. My friend’s researcher acquaintance was not taken very seriously at the time. It’s interesting that what was then considered a unusual interpretation of “aberrant behavior” has become a generally recognized personality trait of creatives.
Keep up the fascinating work.
Good vid!
I object to calling Lou Reed "the leader of the VU." One cannot underestimate John Cale's contribution to their essential sound. Without Cale's avant backgound the VU wouldn't exist as we know it. Not as impactful but nonetheless very important was Mo Tucker's technique of standing up and playing the drums with mallets instead of sticks. If one listens to early Reed demos he's channeling Bob Dylan far more than NY Noise. And btw I'm a huge Lou Reed fan but even post Velvets Lou couldn't make a go of it by himself, that is, not until David Bowie came along and resurrected his "career" with the brilliant glam Transformer album.
Good suggestion - for ethical reasons I can't do people who are still alive.
Thanks so much for posting
Thanks for watching!
Excellent piece; I recently saw the exhibition of his previously non-exhibited works, many of which were shocking, but interesting nonetheless. The creative class is intriguing and I have always wondered about the curious traits that are seemingly shared with the most intriguing artists: left-handedness, early family issues, difficult upbringing, addiction, being gay, boredom in school, etc.
I really enjoy your way of researching and presenting the various artists you worked on.
Thank you 🙏🏻
Thank you for this video
I love your videos so much!
Thank you.
Fantastic!!
Thank you.
Brilliant. Thank you.
Glad you liked it!
He carried on Ciecle Beaton ....impudous...who had the first Silver Foil Salon......
Merci infiniment au Professeur Graeme Yorston ❤Merci à RUclips ❤
Heureux que cela vous ait plu!
May I suggest looking at pianist Glenn Gould
Fascinating man - he is on the list!
I always enjoy your videos. :) Monet?
I'll add him to the list!
I bet those psychiatrists were absolutely confounded by Andy Warhol’s performance art, lol. I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall, watching their reactions 😂. Edit after finishing video. Throughout these two videos on Warhol, I had in the back of my mind that he was on the spectrum. I’m in my early fifties and was diagnosed with autism at 48. I still have the same struggles in many ways, but I’m learning to accept my differences and embrace neurodivergence. I certainly feel less ashamed about my problems and struggles from my past, now that I understand more where they come from. I love interesting and different people. On Warhol specifically, I find some of his art appealing, but it’s not my personal favorite style. I would have, however, loved to see him in action, to talk to him. He saw the world so very uniquely that he seems a once in a lifetime individual. I really enjoy your deep dives into controversial and misunderstood historical figures. I understand we cannot ever know for certain the organic or psychological causes of their life and struggles, but it’s fascinating to try to understand these complex people who changed the world. Thanks for sharing all your hard work, research, and analysis with us. I really get a lot of food for thought and insight into my fellow human beings from your videos. Take care.
Thank you. It makes me feel I am doing something useful if I can help people understand the complexities of mental health issues and if those people who are having their own struggles can feel they are not alone.
I do agree that he was artistic.
Me too!
Good!
Glad you enjoyed it.
What shows art for what it is, when he claimed he didn’t produce his own work. The value plummeted, so was it owning something he made. Which makes you ask was the buyer in love with the work or the person. If you love the original piece what difference in the creative hand that produces the work?
I guess people with the money to buy original contemporary art are motivated by lots of issues besides just liking the image.
Warhorl was asked what he'd want on his tombstone for an epitaph. He replied: "Figment".
Im surprised Warhol never riffed on graffiti/street art culture, given he was living in Manhattan. Loved Warhol when I was a kid (80's).
I’m not too sure what to think of Andy Warhol.
Sure we can analyse people to kingdom come including myself, but sometimes I think we are what we are.
Environment and genetics obviously play a part according to my PhD friend.
Actually have you done a deep delve ever into the profile of General Ulysses S Grant and what President Lincoln saw in him. I’m sure there’s volumes on this subject, but I’m interested in your take. Unsure if you’ve ever done this topic.
Cheers Ak, NZ.
Thank You Graeme, Your works still brilliant, But for some reason i could never stand him or his work !!!
Thank you. All art is matter of taste/preference at the end of the day.
I never cared for him so I never understood the hoopla
Same here.
My high school drama teacher in 1969 thought he was a huge fake.
He is not everyone's cup of tea.
You must know that everything is not about you.
Did the Campbell's Soup Company ever sue him for using their label?
No they didn't, why would they - he probably increased sales!
It was years before I appreciated most of his art work (& a few other pop artists). However, if you think about it him and many others inadvertently made success almost impossible for future artists. Though, modern humans create unofficial cults of artists, "icons" or celebrities. It's a postmodern sickness.
If one had to choose only two artists who defined the 20th century, they would be Picasso and Warhol. This makes for a most interesting dinner party conversation… try it!
Not a bad shout!
The worlds most famous graphic designer and silkscreener.
Without Andy Warhol, contemporary art and possibly even society would be very different. He anticipated and helped shape today's society, possibly more than any other artist of the last century. He showed that art is in life itself, and objects created through this process, are feticistic trophees of one's fleeting existence. Autism might have contributed in empasizing his eccentricity, but since an early age, he seemed determined in not conforming with given rules in art and pushing the boundaries of what could be socially and artistictcally acceptable.
I agree he was influential, but I'm not sure if he was aware he was pushing boundaries. I suspect it was others that retrospectively made that claim on his behalf.
A lot of “Andy Warhol” movies including Chelsea Girls are not really by him, but by friends of his from the Factory. As with “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas” directed by Henry Selick, the films were more marketable with Warhol’s name.
That's true of the later ones, but he was very much involved in the early ones.
❤😊❤
Having ADHD is a blessing and a curse. Even if I would love to not have ADHD, it can be a joy too. Maby it is the same with autism?
Exactly! It can lead to problems, but it can open new ways of thinking and seeing the world.
@@professorgraemeyorston Thank you for answering. 🌞
Warhol's art was making fun of the pretention of the artworld. He was a master because even though he was clearly doing just that, they still didn't know what he was doing. He was a genius because the more he did it, the less they understood what he was doing, and the more pretentious they got. He's the GOAT because even though he is gone and no longer doing it, but they just keep becoming more and more pretentious about his art, which was just showing how pretentious the artworld is.
I am still undecided about how considered and deliberate his decisions about what to paint were, maybe he was poking fun all along, or maybe he just painted what he liked.
I'm autistic and i find it so interesting that the majority of artists I find myself connecting with or enjoying, assimilating to, or find solace in are by your professional diagnosis - autistic.
I find him fascinating, but I wouldn't have wanted to be part of his world.
There were a lot of casualties amongst his superstars.
He said he was a screen printer not an artist
👍👍
Thanks !
50:39 is not true. Andy had long term friendships with people, particularly some of his superstars from the 1960s. He also had a 12-year romantic relationship with Jed Johnson.
Yes. Warhol was psychoneurologically diverse, which of course is +not+ a disorder. Such diversity is as uniquely embodied and evolving as anyone else’s personality. Good job. Tons more to say, but will stop there.
No more than being tall... or short... just part of human diversity.
Can anything be art?
Good question. It seems that if an artist declares something art, then it is art! But that doesn't mean we have to believe them!
7 annoying long adds destroy the video.
Did he get dinged for using someone's photos and turning them into his own art? (Like the traffic accidents and Bellvue photos.)
In 2023 the Supreme Court ruled against his use of images of Prince which has wide ranging implications for the modification of images for artistic purposes.
Looking at his work it seems very clear he hated mankind and his “Art” was his way of openly laughing at them.
I like the term "Neurodiversity"
It is a better way of thinking about autism.
38:18 how appropriate to feature oj Simpson two days after his death 😂
Good riddance
I didn't even notice he was in the picture!
What made him dead behind the eyes, that’s what I want to know
A lack of facial expression can occur in autism.
Andy was an Autistic. He was a savant, I believe. So gifted and so wonderful....
"Jeses, no wonder Lionel had a stroke. What a nightmare it must have been for him to see the honest rebellion that came out of World War II taken over by a witless phony like Warhol."
Hunter S. Thompson, The Ultimate Free Lancer (1967)
No mention of his BMW 'Art Car'?! Shameful
The first hipster
liZa Minnelli.
I can't do anyone who is still alive, but I am preparing a video on her mother!
You said Lisa, not Liza...
For Andy was just Wall decorator !! Notting else! It is huge insult to put this guy as an artist!!
Gee.
Is that not a little too wordy!
Ya see, this is why I have a hard time making friends. To me, I'd lose respect of anyone who looks down on him if he happened to have autism.
It's kinda interesting, but to me it also feels, undeserving. Empty provocation, for the sake of provocation, it's decadence grounded in nothing much. There is nothing truly engaging. I can't agree with the idea that anything is art of you insist it's art with enough bogus conviction. No, it's getting away with tricking people into believing it's art and it's worth something. It's not even a clay Colossus, it's made of paper and buffoonery.