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Andy Warhol: Self Portraits
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
24 February 2005
Celebrity, glamour, icons repeated; this is what we think of as Andy Warhol’s defining work. It made him as famous as his superstellar subjects. But Warhol was prolific for many decades and there is a lot more to him than a few (perhaps overexposed) images. Ranked alongside Picasso and Duchamp as a 20th-century giant, Warhol’s importance is measured by the impact his work has had on a vast range of artists since the 1960s. He deals with the big questions – identity, death, love and pain. Yes, his deadpan persona was the epitome of 1960s ‘cool’; but genuine pathos and humanity run through the works. The humane side of Warhol is becoming more visible now, and this exhibition of self-portraits is a revelation – more stimulating and poignant than you might expect.
One person who knows Warhol’s legacy better than most is Jean Wainwright. An art historian and critic based in Kent, Jean has been given unique access to Warhol’s private audiotapes and his time-capsule boxes – all now housed in the artist’s archive in Pittsburgh. The CAS members travelled to Pittsburgh recently and it was Jean that arranged for Warhol’s now elderly brother to show them round the places he and Andy frequented as kids. He had never spoken in public before. Jean is a colourful character in her own right, so don’t miss the opportunity to see the show in her company. Jean is also giving a talk about Warhol’s tapes in the Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, National Gallery of Scotland on Wednesday 23 February at 6pm (admission is free).