The Andy Warhol Diaries

Just finished watching <The Andy Warhol Diaries> and, wow, I got utterly blown away. I don't remember when was the last time I was completely engaged in something for a long time without any distraction fiddling my phone.  

This documentary film deeply explores how fragile, delicate and, ultimately, vulnerable this man was. He, from the very beginning of his career to the end, couldn't find a way to overcome his life-long insecurity: the deep-seated self-consciousness derived from his ugly look, by his own words, dominated his whole life, the self-doubt only grew gnawing away his confidence towards later his career, and the lack of self-identity made him keep questioning whether he was a business man or an artist. 

Therefore, it all makes sense why, through his life, he had trouble expressing his emotions, in a modern term, a lack of emotional intelligence, especially to his loved ones and lovers because he has been engulfed by the severe lack of self-validation. He was a true wanderer and a misfit, living on the edge. 

In following his, seemingly, glamorous life trajectory, you would naturally come to understand that a series of his works was mere the products of his internal and external life-long struggles, which makes them even more compelling with the multiple layers of his genuine stories. 

If you don't know what to watch on Netflix I highly highly recommend it and you would learn there's a lot more than just "Campbell's Soup Cans" in his life and legacy. And plus, if you are a fan of Jean-Michel Basquiat, you may even more like it because almost one full episode is dedicated to the complex and nuanced relationship between the two: father-son, mentor-mentee, competitors, and lovers. If I were asked the nature of their relationship, I'm on the fence, and anyone would say the same.

Fyi, the photo was taken in his last business trip, which he had no idea what was coming.