The first time I went to an Andy Warhol exhibit was in Las Vegas, so when it opened in Toronto I had to go! I took a day off before my birthday and it was such a good idea. You can spend PTO at the AGO too!
This was my first time returning to the Art Gallery of Ontario since the 2016 White Cashmere Collection fashion show. I recommend visiting museums on a weekday afternoon when it’s less busy. I also had a good experience doing this at the Bata Shoe Museum. You need to buy a ticket to the AGO in advance and everyone was really respectful of personal space.
You can spend about an hour walking around the Andy Warhol exhibit. I was excited to see the Two Dollar Bills art because I wore my Andy Warhol money t-shirt from Uniqlo. I own 2 from different collections!
After learning about Andy Warhol in my art history classes at Western almost ten years ago, it was helpful to have a refresher that explores his work more in-depth. One of the timeliest pieces of commentary pointed out that we know very little about the drag queens and trans individuals who posed for him. Even though Andy was interested in them, they were minorities and undocumented compared to other groups represented in art. People are more curious now, but it’s too late to identify them.
Both Andy and I have been fascinated by celebrity culture, but we grew up in different eras. Although some of his art featuring major stars is iconic, it isn’t super interesting to me because I’m a millennial. I didn’t grow up listening to Debbie Harry or watching Elizabeth Taylor. His ideas are more interesting to me than the subjects.
Reading about Andy Warhol’s life after a few visits to New York made it more interesting because I recognized the neighbourhoods mentioned. I also forgot about Andy’s connection to Ronnie Cutrone. His ex-wife Kelly Cutrone inspired me to launch this blog.
Unfortunately, there was nothing I loved in the Andy Warhol gift shop at the end. I don’t collect magnets anymore and I definitely don’t need a puzzle. I would however look for Andy Warhol art to display in my future apartment. Can you believe I didn’t cave when I saw merchandise calling him the *prince* of pop art?
After a dull year, it was really fun to go downtown and visit the Andy Warhol exhibit. It was the perfect event to wrap up my twenties! Book your ticket here.
