National Gallery of Art - Research Paper Example

Experience and Reflection on Exhibits from the National Gallery of Art Museum in DC: Warhol Headlines There are several exhibits that are currently going on at the National Gallery of Art Museum in DC. Among them are Henry Callahan’s 100 Years of commemorative work, Mel Bochner’s In the Tower but I find their themes too heavy for my taste so I focused more on the exhibit of Andy Warhol entitled “Warhol: Headlines”. I am partial with Andy Warhol not only that he is American but I can relate more to his work because it blurred the demarcation between fine arts and popular culture that it made his work more contemporary that young people like me can relate more with his work (Anon., 2011). Also, I like his idea about the “15 minutes of fame”.

His exhibit is located at the East Upper Level of the National Gallery of Art in DC that will run from September 25, 2011 to January 2, 2012 (National Gallery of Museum and Art, 2011). Andy Warhol’s Headlines: To Whom Does the News Belong features a timely articulation of the artistic perspective of the news industry in America. The news, which is typically a dry reporting of events and people take a new life of its own when Andy Warhol interprets it. In his interpretation about news, Warhol provides the uncanny definition that if somebody is in the news, then the news company should be paying the subject because they are selling the news of a person.

The news company will however say that they should not because they are helping the subject of the news. News should be broadcasted and should be owned by everybody because if news does not have any news, then news is not a news. This is an uncanny play of words by Andy Warhol about the news I believe is the gist of the exhibit. In the exhibit, I took special notice about the Andy Warhol’s gift to Sean Penn when she married him in 1985. I am a big Madonna fan so I took a particular notice about the silkscreen gift of Andy Warhol to Madonna where it depicted Madonna’s reaction to show business magazines when they ran an unauthorized nude picture of her.

The present had a fictional New York Post headline that reads “Madonna: I’m Not Ashamed” with hundreds of Keith Haring signature action figures. What used to be a scandalous news suddenly became a piece of art when Andy Warhol touched it. This is a typical example of Andy Warhol’s artistic ingenuity that transcends to everyday mundane subject such as news. What seems to be ordinary became an object of art when it is presented at a different perspective and overlaid with artistic impressions.

This makes a typical uninterested party like me to look at the news with a greater awareness which was previously unnoticed as a “can of soup” (even the can of soup was made an artistic object by Andy Warhol). My final reflection when I left the museum was the thought that nothing is really ordinary in this world. If only we have the right sensitivity and creativity, we will be able to see the artistic value of everyday objects which were previously unnoticed before. That if we are able to see more art in our daily life, our everyday existence is more enriched because we are able to see beauty that lifts our soul.

ReferencesAnon., (August 30, 2011). Warhol on the Mall: A Fall Celebration Presented by the National Gallery Of Art and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Online. Available at National Gallery of Museum and Art (2011). Programs and Events. Online. Available at