To celebrate the ANDY WARHOL: Manufactured exhibit, making its only Canadian appearance at Edmonton’s world class and Gehry-lite Art Gallery of Alberta, we simply must take a quick art history lesson and delve deeper into the American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker. In case you missed the typically epic Refinery Party on Saturday night, you can still catch a Special Lecture by Thomas Sokolowski entitled Andy Warhol: Camouflage Man. The lecture will take place this Wednesday, June 8, at 7 pm at the Ledcor Theatre.

One of the leading figures of the pop art movement, Warhol is synonymous with multi-coloured Marilyn Monroe, Campbell’s soup cans, and 15 minutes of fame. His often bizarre relationship with sexuality, celebrity and American culture shaped him into one of the great popular, artistic voices of the 20th century. He also seems like the kind of character that John Malkovich ought to play in a movie.

Warhol is less well known as a devout Catholic and designer of music album cover art, including the cover art for the Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers (1971) and Love You Live (1977).

In our little car-obsessed, world-within-a-world, he is best remembered as the painter of the BMW M1 Art Car, great-to-the-power-of-12-grandpappy to Jeff Koons’ imaginatively streaked M3 GT2 car.

Check out this rare footage of Warhol painting the M1 Art Car. He lathered the Le Mans-competing supercar with seeming whimsy, but the result was as chillingly calculated as his carefully cultivated image – an image resolutely dissected on the 3rd floor of the Glas und Stahl landmark at 2 Churchill Square.

Now, go, go to the AGA as fast as your feet will take you, and revel in the open critique of our cold machinations. Who knows when we’ll have the opportunity again.