“I come from nowhere

In the eastern Slovakian town of Medzilaborce, Andy Warhol is everywhere. The “Warhol City” there has works by the Pop Artist on display not just in the only Warhol Museum in Europe, but also on the facades of houses, at bus stops and in other public spaces.

What very few people know is that the family of American Pop Artist Andy Warhol – originally Andrej Warhola – came from the eastern Slovakian town of Miková. That is the name of the town where his parents were born; they later emigrated to America. Not far from there is the town of Medzilaborce. This town, with a population of about 140,000, has been the home of the only Andy Warhol Museum in Europe since 1991.

The Warhol Family Museum of Modern Art

The Warhol Family Museum of Modern Art, founded in 1996, was set up by the artist’s American family and the Slovakian Ministry of Culture to preserve the memory of Andy Warhol. In addition to works by Andy Warhol, the museum contains pictures by his brother Paul Warhola and items that remind us of Andy Warhol’s life. Three exhibitions stand out among the artistic offerings:

The exhibition “Andy Warhol’s Roots” examines the artist’s roots with the help of the collections of the Potivnak and Bezek families.
The “Paul and James Warhola Permanent Exhibition” shows the works of Andy Warhol’s brother Paul and of his son. Both of them are also artists; Paul’s pictures are experimental, James’s works are represented in the exhibition by two oil paintings. “The Andy Warhol Permanent Exhibition” consists of 23 authentic pieces of Warhol art. The works are primarily screen prints and drawings.
In addition to the permanent exhibitions, the Warhol Family Museum of Modern Art puts on shows and concerts and conducts educational, advisory and research activities.

The museum is extremely important not just to eastern Slovakia, but to the entire country, because Andy Warhol’s fame reaches around the globe.

An entire town under the influence of Pop Art

In Medzilaborce, it is not just the museum that is a reminder of the famous Pop Artist Andy Warhol. On the square in front of the museum, visitors are greeted by a 2.30 metre tall Andy Warhol sculpture with an umbrella. And this is certainly not the only outdoor work of art that Medzilaborce has to offer.
Thanks to EU grants, “Warhol City” is taking shape in the town. In addition to the art museum, the works of the famous artist decorate bus stops and the facades of houses. The famous Campbell’s soup cans are particularly popular and a favourite place for tourists to Medzilaborce to pose.

Brief biography:

Andy Warhol Born on 6 August 1928 as the youngest of three sons of a farming couple in Pittsburgh, died on 22 February 1987 in New York City. Originally called Andrej Warhola; his parents came from the town of Miková in Slovakia. In 1945, Warhol started studying commercial art at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, now the Carnegie Mellon University, and completed a degree in painting and design. After completing his degree, he moved with fellow student, artist Philip Pearlstein, to New York. Andy Warhol was a graphic designer, artist, filmmaker and publisher. He is considered the “epitome” and diva of Pop Art because in his life’s work he frequently used a stylised version of himself as the subject of his art. Warhol left an extensive oeuvre, ranging from early simple advertising graphics to his paintings, sculptures, films and books. He also produced music, although only for a short time. Andy Warhol was an introverted, shy and enigmatic individual. He was not overt about his homosexuality, but also did not deny it. On 3 June 1968, Warhol was shot and seriously wounded by a radical women’s rights advocate, Valerie Solanas. His personality is reported to have changed radically after the attack; for example he suffered from chronic buying and collecting frenzies. On the morning of 22 February 1987, Warhol died unexpectedly from complications following a gall bladder operation in New York Hospital under circumstances that remain a mystery.

Links

http://art.box.sk/warhol www.medzilaborce.net www.region.sk/warhol/exhibits.html