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.

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More public art

My favorite public art so far resulted from a student art competition. The winning entries on the theme of Van Gogh are displayed in the windows of this building adjacent to St. Martin’s Dome. This building has yet to be restored, and the paintings provide a welcome temporary brightening of the crumbling structure.

St. Martin’s, just east of the communist-built expressway, dates back to the 16th century and was the coronation site for 11 kings and 8 queens of Hungary (of which Bratislava was the capital for several hundred years).

On some days, an enterprising performance artist sets up shop by “The Gazer” statue, with his hat out for tourist donations.

A few yards down Rybárskabrána from The Gazer is a dapper old man with a hat in his hand, Schööne Naci (“nice old man” – no relation to the Nazis). My department head alerted me to this one. It is based on a real person who died about 40 years ago, but was famous throughout the city. Walking all day along on the streets, he greeted the ladies in the traditional Viennese manner, kissing their hands, wearing white gloves and a hat all the times. I’m told he was considered a bit crazy but very nice.

Andy Warhol sits outside the Camouflage Restaurant on Venturska in the Pedestrian Zone.

The biggest square in Old Town is Hviezdoslavovo Námestie, named after the most popular Slovak poet, Josef Hviezdoslav. I have been trying to think of major American squares or parks named after beloved poets – Walt Whitman, perhaps?

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