“I’m afraid that if you look at a thing long enough, it loses all of its meaning” – Andy Warhol
I was early meeting a friend yesterday on the campus of Pepperdine University and so I decided to go take a walk through the art gallery they have on campus. The exhibit they were featuring was from their back collection and to be honest I was expecting a bunch of work by former art students that had made a name for themselves in the art world. As I began walking around I was pleasantly surprised by the different styles and genres represented and hidden in the back corner by the elevator was this work by Andy Warhol. Needless to say I was not expecting to see a Warhol when I walked in and so I was able to experience it for the first time with a clear mind.
The piece itself is silk screen on a silk scarf and presents itself as a very delicate and fluid image. What I found myself thinking about while looking at this was Warhol’s devotion to his Catholic tradition. The text on the work struck me as a challenge and forced me to consider my current relatioship with the church. With all of my rebellion and dissapointment I have wanteded to break free from the institution as a whole but these words made me reconsider my position… no answers, just thoughts.