The Andy Warhol Diaries

'Death means a lot of money, honey. Death can really make you look like a star.'

Andy Warhol

To certain extent I do agree with him. The closest example is Andy Warhol himself who after his death even his diaries are sold to others to read; while most people treasure their diaries as their secret best friend. However, diaries are one of the most trusted source to get to know a person better, especially a social figure like Andy Warhol who set a shift in the art culture.

Reading his diaries I realise that Andy Warhol led a very sociable life. He was a member of the elite circles- the politicians and also the Hollywood celebrities. But, with this grand image it is hard to believe that he was only human. He also gossipped and said bad things about other people even though it was meant to criticize and not based on ill-intention. He was a simple man with little worries, who talked about how he hated the Awards, about the recent movie screening, about the new Tarzan series, and other common place things. It is difficult to accept the fact that a genius also led a normal life.

Andy Warhol was a religious christian, but in the same time he was against the tide by being a gay. He was open about his sexuality. He even produced some paintings with the subjects that portrays his sexuality. In his diary he did mention about some orgy his friends joined during which they used their 'bigtoes to fuck' since there were rumours about gay cancer. He even joked about it saying 'now it's whoever has the biggest toe'. He even (few times in his diaries) showed his preference to John Travolta, ' but nobody good like John Travolta won. I mean, Richard Dreyfuss? I mean, if he's a sexsymbol...'

Throughout the diaries entry, I got the impression that Andy Warhol was an observant jolly person who seldom dealt with his internal conflicts. He often talked about other people around him and little was said about himself. The closest he went in expressing his deepest thoughts and feelings is when he told about his opinion on commercial movies and later relate to his preference towards the things that other people don't understand, claiming that such works are artful and more creative than the commercially produced works.

In school, I think diaries entries would be useful in exposing students to the characters- their thoughts and feelings. It is also effective to teach them how to express themselves. Besides, it is fun to get to know how public figures days are. It is like peeking into some forbidden chamber...