Polish show digs into Andy Warhol’s Slovakian roots

From: theartnewspaper.com

Exhibition in Krakow puts Pop artist’s work in context with his central European background

By Katarzyna Jagodzińska. Web only
Published online: 17 January 2013

"Andy Warhol: Contexts"at the International Cultural Centre, Krakow. Photo: Paweł Wodnicki 

 

Andy Warhol supposedly once said, “I am from nowhere.” The king of Pop art is remembered today as an icon and champion of the American dream—a celebrity rejoicing in the company of stars, a lover of glitter and glamour. But he was also an introvert hiding behind a wig and a camera. In his art, he combined the sacred with the profane, raising repetitiveness and superficiality to the level of high art.

Warhol was born in Pittsburgh but his roots go back to what is today Slovakia. His parents emigrated to America from the Miková village in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and arrived in the industrial belt of the US. It was there that Andy Warhola (he later dropped the final “a”) grew up, the youngest of three children.

 He was raised in the moral traditions of the Ruthenians, based on the Greek-Catholic religion. He spoke with his mother Julia, to whom he was particularly attached, in Slovak. In New York, where his career began, he led the life of a celebrity, but he shared his apartment (a multi-storey building) with his mother and her memories of the Old World.

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Bratislava's Art Scene

In a New York Times article, "Bratislava's Art Comes Out of the Shadows", Ginanne Brownell profiles the Bratislava art scene, highlighting the work of the HIT Gallery in particular and noting:

The Bratislava art scene has always played second fiddle to Vienna — a 45-minute drive from the Slovak capital — and Prague, which for generations was where Slovak artists decamped for cultural enlightenment. But these days, small galleries are starting to have a big impact not only on the local scene but on the regional one as well. HIT Gallery is one of the most influential....

HIT is unique to the small Slovak contemporary art scene in its commitment to exploring social, political and cultural boundaries.

The gallery was cofounded by Dorota Kenderova who now partners with artist Jaro Varga. According to Varga they “decided to change from being a gallery of emerging artists to a gallery of emerging ideas….We want to do big topics in a small gallery.”

Learn more about the gallery here.

Obama and Europe

Arianna Huffington writes about criticism Barack Obama has been receiving because of his popularity in Europe (where a June poll in the Telegraph revealed “a striking level of anti-American feeling” and over 65% of those polled in Italy, France, and Germany indicated support for Obama).

Why wouldn’t we want the President of the United States to be liked and respected by the leaders and peoples of other nations, particularly those of our allies in Europe? One might think that increasing a sense of good will toward Americans and the U.S. would be beneficial to our long-term national security, among other things.

(By the way, I can’t help but wonder which candidate they prefer in McCain’s favorite European "country": Czechoslovakia.)