Andy Warhol Museum – Home to Way More than Pop Art

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Visit the Warhol Museum Starting from the Top Down

The best way to approach this museum is to start on the seventh floor and work your way down, as this progression will give you a chronological depiction of Warhol's life and work.

On our most recent visit, we were struck by some of Warhol's early work that we had never seen before- in particular, his shoe illustrations done using the blotted line technique.

This technique was one Warhol started using while he was a student at Carnegie Institute of Technology and continued to develop when he moved to New York and through the 1950s. The broken, dotted lines and the watercolors he used to fill in the drawings give them a fragile, delicate touch that's quite unique in the collection.

Create Your Own Screen Test to Appear in a Warhol Video

We also had fun with the Screen Tests exhibit where we had the chance to create our very own screen test (watch our completed screen test here!).

Warhol himself shot hundreds of screen tests between 1963 and 1966 of people who came to his New York studio. The subjects consisted of everyday people as well as famous artists like Salvador Dali.

While Warhol's screen tests were nothing more than the subject sitting motionless and looking at the camera, or even just performing day-to-day tasks while being filmed, we had a bit more fun with our screen test making faces and showing our personalities more overtly.

Play With the Interactive Silver Clouds

Another interactive exhibit is Silver Clouds, which is our favorite work in the museum.

This piece takes up an entire room and has of dozens of helium-filled balloons that float around the room with the aid of a fan. You're invited to gently interact with the balloons- just try not to feel like a kid again, I dare you!

Of course, if you're looking for more classic Warhol works, the museum has those in abundance, too, like the larger-than-life Elvis 11 Times, Brillo boxes, and his Campbell's soup cans to name a few.

Although Warhol's work may not be for everyone, if you have an interest in learning more about one of the most prolific artists of his time, a visit to the Andy Warhol Museum is an absolute must.

The Andy Warhol Museum is located at 117 Sandusky Street in the North Side. The Warhol Museum also hosts lectures, daily gallery talks, Good Fridays, and tons of other cool events worth checking out.

For more museums in Pittsburgh, check out the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Mattress Factory, or if you like something a bit more unusual, Trundle Manor.