The Life and Times of Andy Warhol

1991
Directed by: Chuck Workman

Perhaps there is no artist more ambiguous than Andy Warhol. It was not just that he was ambigous as a person - he seldom spoke about his art and he would only do so if directly confronted, even then it was vague - his art says almost nothing about the painter behind it unlike other works. Most of his works don't have a single discernable brushstroke unlike say VanGogh where every stroke is defined and an entity in itself. The subject matter also doesn't reflect him - it reflects the pop culture of the time; Campbell Soup Cans and Marilyn Monroe. So in painting a picture of Andy Warhol (excuse the pun) the focus must be more on the people he colloraborated with. The Life & Times of Andy Warhol does a good job of this. In this documentary you won't find critiques of his work. What you will find is views and opinions on Warhol expressed by the people he came into contact with.
The film itself tries to be sort of "popsy" itself with pop songs in the background and a quick and sometimes chatoic tempo. This is not to say there isn't any order however. The film progresses chronologically from Warhol's humble beginnings growing up in Pittsburg to his time in New York City - where he spent the rest of his life. And could we imagine Warhol living anywhere else? The high fashion and endless barage of new products influenced him immensly. His earliest jobs were of illustrating for fashion publications. His goal however always had been to be an artist - so he just painted what he found, common objects, like soup cans. Unbeknowest to him he was painting in a trend that would later be called pop art amongst such artists as Lichtenstein, Rosencrants & Jasper Johns.
Soon his work catapulted him into the spotlight and he frequently enjoyed hanging around celebrities that frequented NYC clubs. If there was a party going on Warhol was there.
Besides screenprinting his famous Marilyns & Elvis's he also worked in Film - specifically experimental film. People seemed to interst him most and many of these films contain minutes of people just staring at the camera or interactions between two people. It was at this time that he created "the factory" where most of his art was produced. He was always surrounded by an eclectic mix of people who I think just drew themselves naturally to him. He wasn't conventional and neither were they. In the documentary you hear fisthand from this eclectic mix (the ones who didn't die prematurely anyway) and you realize that Warhol was just as different if not more so than they were. He may have been aloof to outsiders but to those who knew him he had a fun personality.
I'ld definnitly recommend this film to anyone curious about the man behind the work. I know we've all seen them. You may not learn why he painted them but really I don't think he knew. Whatever the reason, he captured the mood of America in the 60's like few had and will forever remain a cultural icon.
2 stars