“The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting.” -Andy Warhol
Last Christmas, my mom gave me tickets to visit The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. Between busy schedules and snowed out plans, we never made it to the museum in 2019, but last weekend we finally got to go! I was super excited to see Warhol’s artwork, but we also ended up seeing some unexpected art at Randyland and Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens. Read on to hear what I thought and to see pictures from each location!
Andy’s Collections
If you know me, you know Andy Warhol is one of my favorite artists. While I can’t deny that his colorful pop art is what I’m most excited about when I think of his artwork (especially his ‘Flowers’), a lot of his other pieces are pretty cool too. It was so much fun to explore all seven floors of the museum dedicated to his art. It was neat to see how Warhol explored all kinds of mediums, from painting to photography to film. Part of the exhibition was a chance to experience a “Screen Test,” which was a series of films Warhol made. He would invite friends or famous people to his studio and have them sit for three minutes in front of a camera, without giving them any other directions. It produced some pretty entertaining films, so it was fun to try it for ourselves. Let me tell you, three minutes seems a lot longer when you’re just sitting there! Luckily, I have a pretty cool family who joined me in frame and kept me entertained.
Warhol was also quite the collector! The museum had an extensive collection of his items, including a stuffed lion, signed photographs from movie stars, and knick knacks from all over the world, which were fun to browse through. We even got to do some of his signature style of screen printing for ourselves as part of the visit. I definitely learned a lot during my trip to the Andy Warhol Museum.
Randy’s Community
Randyland was an awesome spot to visit on our trip to Pittsburgh. Unfortunately we went while Randyland was closed, but we still got to explore the outside of this colorful location. Randy Gilson transformed his little corner home into a happy place for people to come together, and in turn transformed the reputation of the entire neighborhood. Just hearing about his story brought a smile to my face, even before we saw it in person. I hope we can visit again soon and experience Randyland in full!
Phipps’ Chihulys
Flowers and art make for my kinda day. We also got to visit the Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens during our time in Pittsburgh. I was looking forward to seeing exotic plants and flowers in bloom, but it was a nice surprise to find all the beautiful glass works by Dale Chihuly throughout the gardens as well. They have quite a lovely collection and of course it’s always a fun adventure to wander though the gardens. 10/10 would recommend Phipps on your next Pittsburgh visit!
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