ANDY WARHOL: REVELATION
Never Losing His Religion
The current show at the Brooklyn Museum isn’t just another Andy Warhol exhibit. As one of the most intriguing and beloved artists in modern history, Warhol is the subject of numerous yearly exhibitions worldwide, but his complicated relationship with faith is a topic that has rarely been touched on until now.
Given that he will always be remembered as an important figure in LGBTQ+ history, a critic of American society, and an avid partier, Warhol is not typically thought of as a religious man. Instead, he was an artist whose life was filled with controversy, glamor, and tragedy. Though it looks as if his religious background was lost among the craziness and glamor that was his life, that was not the case. The show at the Brooklyn Museum, titled Andy Warhol: Revelation, is dedicated to showing how his Byzantine Catholic upbringing profoundly impacted his life and career.
Andy Warhol, a leading figure in the pop art movement, was born Andy Warhola in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1928. He was an artist, film director, and producer who created works that explored and commented on American society, celebrity culture, artistic expression, and what can be defined as art. He proved to the world that anything could inspire great art. Though pop art had many important representatives, Warhol is, without a doubt, considered the father of the visual art movement. He was the fourth child born to Ondrej and Julia Warhola, who emigrated to the United States from Mikó, Austria-Hungary. Growing up, Andy struggled with Sydenham’s chorea (also known as St. Vitus’ Dance), a nervous system disease that causes involuntary movements of the extremities. This contributed to the hypochondria he would struggle with his entire life and provided him with time to develop a deep fascination for art and celebrity culture. Though his parents were traditional and religious, they still were supportive of their son’s passion, especially his mother. In addition, his parents decided to invest in their youngest son’s education, as they believed he had the most promising future of all of their children.
As stated by the Brooklyn Museum, “Andy Warhol: Revelation examines themes such as life and death, power and desire, the role and representation of women, Renaissance imagery, family and immigrant traditions and rituals, depictions and duplications of Christ, and the Catholic body and queer desire.” The one hundred plus objects on view include Warhol’s The Last Supper series (1986) –which he created just a few months before tragically dying after gallbladder surgery in 1987– as well as The Chelsea Girls (1966). This unfinished experimental film depicts the setting sun, commissioned by the de Menil family and funded by the Roman Catholic Church. It is also a little-known fact that Andy’s mother, Julia, had artistic inclinations of her own and supported her son’s practice from the very beginning. As a result, some of the drawings she made when living with her son are also featured.
With another significant exhibit at Fotografiska, this is the year to immerse oneself into this provocative artist’s world. Andy Warhol: Revelation has been on view at The Brooklyn Museum since November 19 and runs through June 19, 2022.
