The Life and Death of Andy Warhol

More biographies on Andy Warhol have been written since his death in 1987 than when he was still alive. I have read many of them, and as I reread my past diary entries I am also rereading my book reviews. Without question the worst Warhol biography was Ultra Violet's rushed "tell-all" Famous for 15 Minutes: My Years with Andy Warhol, which I will surely reprint on the anniversary of the day I wrote it. The Life and Death of Andy Warhol by Victor Bockris, however, is certainly the best biography I have read on the Prince of Pop Art. Bockris, like Ultra Violet, was a Warhol insider who worked closely with the artist. While Ultra Violet hung out among the druggies at The Factory and whored herself to reporters for any available inches of press ink, Bockris worked with Warhol on his book and television projects, as well as Interview magazine. The Life and Death of Andy Warhol goes further back than any Warhol biography I know, all the way back to Warhol's family history in Slavic Ruthenia. We learn about his parents, aunts and uncles and what immigrant life was like for Warhol's ancestors. Bockris interviews Andy Warhol's first teachers and his schoolmates, and it is these intimate interviews that make the book unique. Other biographers may interview only those in Warhol's contemporary circle of friends, whereas Bockris went further into the past and finally got some answers to questions that have left other biographies severely lacking. For example: why did Warhol's mother live with him? Was Warhol gay? Was he asexual? Why did he fear hospitals? Other biographies have given short and simple answers to these questions, but didn't have any depth in the historical explanation. My only regret is that there were no colour photos, and none at all of his art. How can one publish a book about an artist, and not include photos of the works one is describing in the text? Maybe Bockris needed the rights to print photographs of Warhol's works. There were only a few black-and-white pictures, and they were either photos that every Warhol fan has seen before, or photos from Warhol's two brothers' private albums, which weren't published anywhere until now.

This book covers every period in Andy Warhol's life with great detail including his childhood, his personal life and his career as an artist, filmmaker, publisher and celebrity. Victor Bockris interviewed many members of Warhol's family, friends and teachers to tell the story of his impoverished youth in Pittsburgh, his time in college at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, working as a commerical artist in New York in the 1950s and his career as an artist. It includes detailed descriptions from mulitple perspectives of the creation of some of Warhol's greatest works such as the film Empire and his book a: A Novel. There's also many quotes from Warhol himself, giving the reader some idea of how Warhol viewed his own work.

It would be difficult to compose a thorough biography of Andy Warhol. There are so many dimensions to the man's career that it alone could emcompass several hundred pages. Victor Bockris has done an excellent job of writing a concise version of Warhol's life story.Bockris begins the book in the humble begins of the Warhola family. Andy is an almost insignificant little child who is often sick and mocked bt his peers. As a result, he becomes very attached to his mother. This bond lasts well into his life. Andy Warhol was actually kicked out of art school for his poor performance before enrolling again after summer school. His art took time to catch on. His paintings, as diverse as they are in style and subject, gained him his fame. On the other hand, the films he produced were largely unsuccessful. While the stories behind his work seem concise, Bockris does an excellent job of recounting Warhol's career. Bockris does an admirable job of capturing the social changes and scandals that affect Andy Warhol's life. Warhol's faint homosexuality is documented. While not being an overly sexual person, Warhol's affects on pop culture went so far to make homosexuality trendy around 1972. The day Andy Warhol was shot is discussed with photographs. The events of this day are told in a straight forward nature. Warhol's tragic death is also told through the sources at the hospital and the people closest to Andy.The book is a bargain as the price it sells. For those wanting to learn more about this legendary artist, this book is ideal.

The first half of this book is invaluable for the intimate infomation that it gives on Andy Warhol's early years. It is very sensitively written and thoroughly engaging, though the latter years are sort of run through at the speed of sound. That would be the only criticsm I have of this book but you can flesh out the facts (from Andy's view) by getting a copy of the Andy Warhol Diaries. Otherwise it's a really great book.

I picked up this book, not expecting much and learned a lot of the life of Andy Warhol.Being a person who met both Warhol and Solonis (who shot Andy Warhol), the book was probably more interesting to me than most people. The book goes into detail about how, the public was being mislead by Warhol's veneer of simplicity in revealing how sensitive he actually was.It explains about how Andy manipulated people and was as generous as he was mean. I found this to be true in my own personal experience, knowing Warhol. He was very defensive, and could be quite mean, when offended.The book also gives valuable insight in how Andy Warhol manipulated people. It was interesting knowing how he could beg and whine when he didn't get his way, and he didn't give up after many misfortunes.