“The idea is not to live forever, it is to create something that will” – Andy Warhol
Netflix hosted a sensational screening of the The Andy Warhol Diaries in the heart of Hollywood, an event that’ll live in my memories for quite some time. Some of Los Angeles’ most forward-thinking talent was in attendance, a who’s who of nightlife pioneers, designers, DJs and vocalists gathered to celebrate and investigate the genius that was Warhol.
The six-part series takes an in-depth and wonderfully florid look at his youth, his inspirations, his secrets and his successes. Using an AI recreation of his voice, we hear diary entries voiced-over poignant and striking footage. Director Andrew Rossi has created a series that creatively stands toe-to-toe with the work of its subject, a rare and impressive feat.
Brad Oberhofer’s score is particularly lush, evoking a sense of melancholic peace. It features a sort of pastoral and profound, somnambulant beauty throughout, matching the spirit of the enigmatic Warhol to a tee.
The event featured a poignant post-episode conversation with four titans of LA’s art scene: moderator and famed florist Maurice Harris (Bloom and Plume), style pioneer Pia Davis (No Sesso), party provocateur Gregory Nunez (A Club Called Rhonda), and illustrator extraordinaire Loveis Wise (The New Yorker, Apple).
They talked candidly about their beginnings, their motivations and their perspective, an illuminating look into the minds of four fascinating raconteurs.
The panel was completely POC, a noticeable departure from Warhol’s primarily-white artist cabal, which provided a rather unique opportunity to talk about access and the ways Black and Brown artists have long been shut out of the conversation.
Nunez said the Rhonda crew keeps a keen, forward-looking eye on ‘the next youngest crew of creatives or queers or people that are pushing the boundaries in their own realms,’ which this event did brilliantly. This felt like a meeting of the minds, a salon for futuristic friends who haven’t been able to gather this way in years.
