Continuing The Great One
Andy Warhol was dubiously honored Tuesday night through one of his closest nephews, and most-notable family members, James Warhola, here in New York City at the Scandinavian House on Park Avenue through the platform of film, “My Nephew Jamie”, selected scenes from a documentary telling the story of James on how he continued to pursue Andy’s great work with his own art in a very big way, created and produced by Bonnie Bien, of LA Presse PR, the prestigious public relations firm who produces runway shows for New York Fashion Week.
The initial footsteps of this documentary began with Bonnie herself, who’s a lifelong fan of Andy Warhol, and the moment where Bonnie got the opportunity to meet James, Bonnie was so fascinated soon after, that Bonnie came up with the idea of doing a documentary about James, revealing the layers of his process, and his intense relationship with his legendary uncle, Andy Warhol, and how that bond shaped James’s own art that would be Andy Warhol carried on… in a big way.
James’s claim to fame was found through “Mad Magazine” and “Garbage Pail Kids Cards” throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s as he conceptualized, and created vivid colorful images for those iconic pop culture brands, along with many Sci Fi book covers, James also wrote, and illustrated two children’s books based about his famous uncle, Andy, being “Uncle Andy’s – A faabbulous visit with Andy Warhol” and “Uncle Andy’s Cats”.
The 2 biggest key takeaways that James inherited from his famous uncle Andy were an incredibly strong work ethic, as James revealed in a Q&A soon after the screening which surprised his own family members when visiting Andy in New York City on family trips, traveling from Andy and family’s hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, James stressing on little things his uncle taught him when Andy was working on his art; the second takeaway was to go bigger, take the simplest item like “Campbell’s Soup”, and amplify it where millions upon millions of people never thought about it in that way; James uses those key takeaways to amplify his own art onto the world, as many attending the film screening were in awe about him being the one who conceptualized “Mad Magazine” and “Garbage Pail Kids”.
While this screening event was taking place, a silent auction went on for 2 hours to raise funds to finish filming and secure licensing to tell James’s story in full once the documentary is finished, items from both Andy Warhol and James Warhola were auctioned off to help offset these necessary costs to produce an independent film documentary, as well as seeking out additional funding mechanisms from all facets to tell the story of James Warhola, so the world at large can truly understand what it takes to be a gifted artist like Andy Warhol, spawning next level talent down to family members, and inspiring fans and artists alike to follow in Andy and James’s footsteps.
Learn More About LA Presse PR’s Work Through VICTOR DE SOUZA, With His Bridal Collection At New York Bridal Fashion Week.