When the luck comes from a cockroach

On February 22, 1987, Andy Warhol, one of the most influential artists on the contemporary scene, left us at the age of 58. We remember him almost exclusively as the father of Pop Art, but he was an American artist, director, producer, painter, sculptor, screenwriter, film producer, director of photography, editor and actor. The cause of his death following some post-surgical complications to the gallbladder is partially attributable to the American radical feminist and writer Valerie Solanas who, after having seen Warhol reject her script, shot him in the chest almost 20 years earlier, it was 3 June 1968. Although he was calm and reflective, his popularity allowed him to always be surrounded by friends and colleagues, this also helped to create a strong understanding with his collaborators who often ended up living in his studio, at number 231 east of 47th street, which in fact became a workshop, a laboratory and an art gallery. This place contributed to the creation of the Warhol character.

The voices of New York spoke of it as a murky, seedy place, the scene of parties with high rates of drugs and sex. Andrew Warhola was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, fourth child of Ondrej Warhola Hungarian emigrants Being the youngest allows him to go to high school and even to attend an art course at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, where he will enroll in the 1945, once graduated. It seems that Warhol changed his age at will, inventing stories about his youth during interviews with the press, because his date of birth (August 6, 1928) was never officially registered in the hospital. Warhol loved to collect perfumes as if they were time capsules to document and activate memories. He personally changed them every three months. On the day of her burial, a friend decided to throw a bottle on her coffin containing the fragrance Estée Lauder Beautiful. In 1959 he created "Wild Raspberries": a funny cookbook that he made together with his friend Suzie Frankfurt interior decorator, in which they decided to make fun of the sought-after French cookbooks.

There are 19 drawings by Warhol in this book. Few remember that Andy Warhol's first engagement, which started his career, is related to a cockroach: in 1949 he was penniless and lived in a basement infested with cockroaches. It was at that time that he introduced himself to the fashion editor of "Harper's Bazaar", Carmel Snow. During the interview, taking her book out of her briefcase, a cockroach emerges and disappears under Snow's desk. She, moved to compassion, decided to give him the opportunity to collaborate with the newspaper. Remember the red sofa, one of the most famous objects in the artist's studio used for dozens of photo shoots? It was Warhol's great friend Billy Name who took him to the Factory after finding him abandoned on the side of the road.