More Than 15 Minutes of Fame

Flyer by Dawn Wirth

Andy Warhol coined that term "15 minutes of fame" and whether he was a visionary about the way of the postmodern world or whether he merely picked up on and articulated a fledgling phenomena, he had his finger on THEE meme of the 20th and now 21st Century. Everyone who wants to make a splash in the public eye is looking for that 15 minutes...

On August 6, we celebrate what would have been Andy's 81st birthday. It difficult for me to wrap my around the fact that my late mother was born just two years before Andy. They're in and of the same generation - but one rarely thinks of their mom as "hip" and "trendsetting," although my mother was an artist and fashion designer... she was also my mom, the disciplinarian... but I digress.

Andy Warhol, in the 60s, mid-wifed the precursors of punk rock, The Velvet Underground.


John Cale

He was their patron and he designed that famous album cover with the banana - The Velvet Underground & Nico that many people refer to simply as the banana album!


Lou Reed

In 1989, both Cale and Reed performed a collection of songs called Songs for Drella at St Anne's Church in Brooklyn. The work was in memory of their mentor and patron, "Drella," or Andy Warhol. An album also entitled Songs for Drella was released in 1990 by Sire Records.

Each and every day, people pay homage to Andy Warhol, whether they know it or not.


David Bowie

Let's not forget that David Bowie has a song called "Andy Warhol"!

I too owe a lot to Andy Warhol. He's influenced me - and I'm proud of it.

This weekend in East Nashville, for the annual Tomato Art Festival, I'm exhibiting a Warhol-ized treatment of one of my well-known images:



If you are in Nashville, you can see it hanging up at The Groove in Five Points. Visit The Groove online or stop by the shop at 103 S. 11th Street in East Nashville (near Woodland).

Happy Birthday Andy Warhol!