15 minutes of fame

+

Facebook, flickr, youtube - yet the vast majority of school districts have stringent rules against nearly all forms of social networking during the school day. Students and teachers working on the Transatlanticbridgeproject in Oberhausen and Greensburg are breaking all these rules now and are taking the liberty to blog, communicate on facebook and watch videos on youtube officiary during their school lessons to interact.

That we would be able to do so, Andy Warhol had already anticipated in 1968, when he coined the expression: "In the future, everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes." Why not our students as well - doing artwork and using the internet to publish and have an interesting exchange of thoughts.

During our stay in Pittsburgh we visited the Andy Warhol Museum and while I was looking at his works it became clear to me, that Andy Warhol´s way of creating had highly influenced the American students creating their different pages of the Transatlantic Journals.

"Is that art?" my students in Germany asked, feeling the candy paper, which was glued in a journal and I had to explain a lot about American POP Art , about advertising and "commercial education" about Andy's message - we all can be stars - about POP as a kind of life style

- Andy´s life style.

About his infamous hot PINK, which made even good old Goethe glisten in his renewed splendor

and now makes a student look like he (she) "is in the pink"

( means he/she´s looking "hot"), about his technique of multiples, showing the mass fabrication and unlimited quantities of the object - now showing the many sidedness, the "multiple" personality of young people, about his using pictures of celebrities and photos from Time and Life magazines, now used for showing the glamourous dreams of the students, outing themselves as "fashion fans".

The journals - as "life capsules" - interesting to be opened.

Since Warhol´s death, changes in media market, as well technological advancement as oneline social networking and blogging allowed otherwise former individuals or concepts to gain widespread audience in a short period of time. John Langer suggests that 15 minutes of fame is an enduring concept because it permits everyday activities to become 'great efforts'.*

Our eyeryday activities - POPular Art - our life style.

" On the web, everyone will be famous for 15 people". This quote was said to have originated with the Scottish artist Momus - a recent adaption of Warhols quip.*And the sociologist Ervin

Goffman wrote about the necessity of grooming oneself for presentation in 'everyday life'.

And we guess that the grooming we really need today is for purposes of representation in the virtual domain.

- "Is that art?" Andy would answer that art and life are the same and social networking is only real life to be translated online - that social networking sites have become POPular sites for youth culture to explore themselves, relationships and share cultural artyfacts -and that there are not many limitations as to what individuals can post when online.

Today teachers have to take care of computer viruses and security regulations concerning the communikation via internet.

- Andy wouldn´t wast a thought on it.

*( after : wikipedia "15 minutes of fame")

+ Two pages designed by the American students of Kelley Audia´s Art class