Warhol-mania

Artist Andy Warhol's parents emigrated to the U.S. in 1913 from Miková in eastern Slovakia, so he is something of a national hero here. Last night at the new national theatre, I saw an ambitious full-evening ballet Warhol, choreographed by Mário Radačovský, the new company director.

Photos were not allowed during the performance, but this photo montage in the lobby gives you a sense of the contemporary flavor of the life of Warhol depicted in the ballet.

Giant soup cans in the lobby also captured a sense of Warhol's art and played a role later in the performance.

This huge "television" screen was visible as we entered the theatre and again during the intermission. Here it shows a film of Warhol sleeping, one of his more notorious works, with the role of Warhol in this film played by the dancer who took the role that night.

I was surprised at the poor attendance. When I tried to enter the balcony, the usher said we should all go downstairs to the orchestra level for seating; that was still about 1/3 empty when we were all seated. I was unable to get tickets to their productions of the 19th-century classics La Bayadere and Sleeping Beauty, and my ticket for Swan Lake tomorrow night was one of the last available. Slovaks revere Warhol, but don't seem as comfortable with contemporary, experimental ballets.

Last September, I shot this statue of Warhol holding court outside a restaurant in the pedestrian zone of Old Town.

This poster in my faculty office here publicized a major retrospective of his work.

I should avoid playing pop-psychologist, but I wonder if Slovaks might appreciate the fact of his celebrity more than the content of his artistic innovations. Or perhaps his innovations in visual art have not yet permeated the performing arts audiences. I'm writing a lengthy essay for another publication about this ballet season, so I won't go into critical detail on the ballet here. Suffice it to say that it was a worthy and ambitious effort -- sometimes too ambitious -- to portray highlights of Warhol's complicated life through dance.

NOTE: Click on any image in this blog to see it full-size.