Warhol
A Life as Art
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Warhol
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Narrated by:
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Graham Halstead
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By:
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Blake Gopnik
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
When critics attacked Andy Warhol's Marilyn paintings as shallow, the Pop artist was happy to present himself as shallower still: He claimed that he silkscreened to avoid the hard work of painting, although he was actually a meticulous workaholic; in interviews he presented himself as a silly naïf when in private he was the canniest of sophisticates. Blake Gopnik's definitive biography digs deep into the contradictions and radical genius that led Andy Warhol to revolutionise our cultural world.
Based on years of archival research and on interviews with hundreds of Warhol's surviving friends, lovers and enemies, Warhol traces the artist's path from his origins as the impoverished son of Eastern European immigrants in 1930s Pittsburgh, through his early success as a commercial illustrator and his groundbreaking pivot into fine art, to the society portraiture and popular celebrity of the '70s and '80s, as he reflected and responded to the changing dynamics of commerce and culture.
Warhol sought out all the most glamorous figures of his times - Susan Sontag, Mick Jagger, the Barons de Rothschild - despite being burdened with an almost crippling shyness. Behind the public glitter of the artist's Factory, with its superstars, drag queens and socialites, there was a man who lived with his mother for much of his life and guarded the privacy of his home. He overcame the vicious homophobia of his youth to become a symbol of gay achievement, while always seeking the pleasures of traditional romance and coupledom. (Warhol explodes the myth of his asexuality.)
Filled with new insights into the artist's work and personality, Warhol asks: Was he a joke or a genius, a radical or a social climber? As Warhol himself would have answered: Yes.
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What listeners say about Warhol
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Chris Nichols, GameShift
- 02-05-22
Thorough research for the keen Warhol explorer
This is a very well researched book. It covers Warhol’s life and work in depth with a great deal of meticulously curated detail. It’s very long, and contains way more than I expected or will ever need. Almost 45 hours of narration. I enjoyed it and learned a lot, but would also have been equally happy with an abridged version.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- HPlane
- 26-11-22
A Good Insight But Sometimes Hard to Follow
I enjoyed learning more about Warhol as he's always been one of my favourite artists but sometimes I got a bit lost as the timeline didn't always stay chronological and jumped. The narrator was good for the most part too but I found him to be a bit grating at times. Overall a good audiobook with some minor flaws for me personally.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 05-06-23
Fantastic!
Informative, entertaining, and certainly whizzes by in a way many audiobooks that last for almost two days worth of listening don't. Very easy on the ear.
it perfectly captures the gossip and glamour of Warhol's Factory lifestyle, and offers a sympathetic view of the man.
Highly recommended for art lovers or anyone interested in modern culture.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Fin Hunt
- 19-08-21
Superb
Highly informative, a great mix of stories and insights for a huge variety of sources. From the silly to the serious it really positions Warhol as one of the most significant and hugely influencial artists of the 20th century, impressive reading never a dull chapter.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Leonard Turton
- 14-07-20
Beginning to End
Very detailed and insightful. Author a bit of a fan but that can be overlooked.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gina S.
- 19-02-21
Fascinating
A fresh look at Andy Warhol. Before I’d only known about the artist in a very superficial way. I hadn’t appreciated his groundbreaking intent and contribution to modern art.
Enjoyed the reading by Blake Gopnik, unforced and entertaining.
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