Last week I happened upon an NPR story about the new Andy Warhol show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (On Point: “How Andy Warhol Changed the World”). During the radio program I heard snippets of the artist being interviewed and giving performance art answers that sounded ridiculous on the surface but upon reflection hinted at the extent to which art was to influence commerce and media of all kinds.
I don’t know shit about art. My only brush with contemporary art was my interview with Shepard Fairey as part of the original Good Men Project tour.
This weekend I happened to be in Miami, one of the epicenters of modern art, for a birthday party. I tried to keep my eyes open for art that moved me in restaurants and apartments. On Saturday it rained like some kind of tropical monsoon so we made the trek to the gallery district and wandered around. I saw some interesting Shep Fairey originals and even an electric chair Warhol mentioned in the NPR piece.
But what really caught my eye was the Cuban art, with its multimedia color and vivid color. I saw a great series that made fun of glamor magazines.
And I am always attracted to large format black and white photos of famous people looking more human than famous. So, tell me, what art moves you? How is it related to manhood and gender and goodness? Looking at the work I was reminded that some parts of the soul aren’t rational, aren’t even aesthetic. They can only be touched through creative expression born through inspiration rather than debate.
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Images by me