Poetry and Art, Postmodernism Warhol & Lou Reed

This seems to have spontaneously evolved into a combination of Art Sunday, Song Saturday and Poetry Wednesday all rolled into one.

Postmodernism, Andy Warhol and Lou Reed

Postmodern art is a term used to describe art which developed in the aftermath of ‘Modernism’. The term covers a multitude of Art, Styles and Media;  the depiction of consumer or popular culture being just some of them.

The depiction of common objects presented as Art was sometimes referred to as ‘Lowbrow Art’ or as Pop Surrealism. Actual definitions are difficult, since the movement itself rejected strict definitions and absolutes. So called ‘Lowbrow art’ does serve to illustrate  one of the central themes in postmodernism which is that; the distinction between "high" and "low" art are no longer recognized. The boundaries are irreversibly merged.

One of the first to use the term "Pop Art" to describe paintings or images that celebrated consumerism of the post World War 11 era was Lawrence Alloway . He used the term for art which depicted, and often celebrated material consumer culture, advertising, and iconography of the mass production age. Early works of  David Hockney and Richard Hamilton, are good  examples of this type of work together with later American examples which  include the bulk of the careers of Andy Warhol  and  Roy  Lichtenstein

Pop Art as an example of postmodernism shows how the so called "Great Divide" between high art and popular culture is smashed for ever. The most obvious example of this type of work has to be Warhol. Fame and notoriety soon attached themselves to Warhol and his fourth floor studio apartment in New York, (called the Factory) soon became the place to be for absolutely any one who was any one. It developed into a meeting place for New York’s Poets, musicians, drug addicts, aspiring rock stars and entourage of eccentric personalities.  At some point during this avant-garde gathering Warhol was taken to a little club called ‘Cafe Bizarre’ and introduced to Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground, the rest as they say is history.  At their very first meeting Andy Warhol is supposed to have said to Lou Reed that they did the same thing with the music as he did with his work. This appears to have been true; Lou Reed was to music as Andy Warhol was to Art. Warhol managed Velvet Underground for a while but their most famous and iconic collaboration has to be the un-named album known simply as ‘the Banana Album’, Warhol produced the album and designed the now instantly recognisable album cover.

http://forgetmenot525.multiply.com/photos/album/82/Warhol

What is not so well recognised is Lou Reed’s poetic works. Their music was so bizarre that many people did not listen to it, and even those who did rarely recognised the poetry contained within the lyrics.  Consider the lyrics of

‘’The Black Angel's Death Song’’; but remember this was something like 40 years before ‘Trainspotting’;  similar experiences of the authors and similar messages but Lou Reed has infinitely more poetry in the telling.

American spelling left as this is the way it was written.

’The Black Angel's Death Song’’

The myriad choices of his fate

Set themselves out upon a plate

For him to choose

What had he to lose

Not a ghost bloodied country

All covered with sleep

Where the black angel did weep

Not an old city street in the east

Gone to choose

And wandering's brother

Walked on through the night

With his hair in his face

On a long splintered cut from the knife of G.T.

The rally man's patter ran on through the dawn

Until we said so long

To his skull-shrill yell

Shining brightly red-rimmed and

Red-lined with the time

Infused with the choice of the mind

On ice skates scraping chunks

From the bells

Cut mouth bleeding razor's

Forgetting the pain

Antiseptic remains cool goodbye

So you fly

To the cozy brown snow of the east

Gone to choose, choose again

Sacrificials remains make it hard to forget

Where you come from

The stools of your eyes

Serve to realize fame, choose again

And roverman's refrain of the sacrilege recluse

For the loss of a horse

Went the bowels and a tail of a rat

Come again, choose to go

And if Epiphany's terror reduced you to shame

Have your head bobbed and weaved

Choose a side to be on

If the stone glances off

Split didactics in two

Leave the colors of the mouse trails

Don't scream, try between

If you choose, if you choose, try to lose

For the loss of remain come and start

Start the game I che che che che I

Che che ka tak koh

Choose to choose

Choose to choose, choose to go

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Aug 4, '08 Thanks very much to every one for all these comments. But; truth is ….. I don’t actually LIKE this work very much myself. What I mean is, this is not the work I would choose to put on my wall. If I could chose ANY Art work to hang on my wall my preference would probably be a McTaggart seascape. I chose to show Warhol and Reed because, their work more than any one else’s fitted the theme and their work, even if not to my own particular taste, is very well recognised and valid in their own right as serious works of Art. The one thing I do find quite ironic is that, while this type of work may have forced people rethink definitions about what is and is not Art, and rethink what constitutes ‘culture’, it also went some way toward putting art back into the public domain of galleries and museums and out of the private domain of homes and families. This work is more often found in public places, many private individuals feel the same as I do and would prefer to have more traditional Art actually in their homes. And this is the irony because, at the beginning of the century, (especially the in Arts and Crafts movement), it began to be more common to find Art in the homes of ordinary families and not restricted the galleries or country homes of the very rich. But… enjoyed this week, it’s been interesting.

delete reply wickedlyinnocent wrote on Aug 4, '08 Very interesting, Loretta, any art expression is worth viewing and understanding. I'm not much on pop art but I admit I like Warhol ( but I hated his movies), maybe because of Marilyn and Che Guevara. Thanks for Lou Reed too. Have a wonderful week, hugs.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Aug 4, '08 You're right about the lyrics being bizarre sometimes but I love Lou Reed's 'Take a Walk on the Wild Side'. Andy Warhol prints are becoming popular in decoration. Avon, for example, sells some. We recently had a Warhol Exhibition here. Thanks for another interesting post.

delete reply starfishred wrote on Aug 3, '08 I don't like modern or pop art much but like my hubby always said art is in the eye of the beholder right-Your tour was very well done loretta thanks

delete reply bennett1 wrote on Aug 3, '08 Learned some things and I appreciate it. Warhol does not have the power to move me as some other artists do, but I respect his art. Welcome back.

delete reply paulishd wrote on Aug 3, '08 Loved it! Learned and enjoyed a lot!

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Aug 3, '08, edited on Aug 3, '08 As a young man, I tried Warhol and Reed, as well as some others. I even tried Warhol's awful movies. Postmodernism did little or nothing for me. I admit to liking the portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, but as far as it goes. The music used with the poetry was an assault on the ears, it wasn't listened to much. I do not remember seeing the words presented by themselves, perhaps I would have given Reed another look. Very well researched and written. It is good to have you back with us.

delete reply edtrain5 wrote on Aug 3, '08 I add my compliments to those of greenwytch.... well done. I learned a lot and realize that there still is much more to learn. Thank you for sharing.....

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Aug 3, '08 why thank you, we aim to please my dear.............and soon I shall have to repay all the visits to my pages and have a good old read of all that has been happening while I have been happily playing and painting in a field with my granddaughter.

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Aug 3, '08 whoa, this is very well done, loretta! i really like it, brava, my dear! ; D