Computers are such an integral part of life these days that it seems unremarkable that an artist creating work with one is news. But Andy Warhol created a set of images on a Commodore Amiga computer as part of a launch event for the Amiga – when that PC was being marketed as the ideal, high-end home system. But after Andy died these computer renderings disappeared and no one thought about them until new media artist Cory Arcangel found this YouTube clip of Andy’s Amiga experience. This prompted the Warhol Museum’s chief archivist to embark upon a treasure hunt. The interest in the unique Amiga footage paid off and a team of researchers eventually found the artworks on a series of Amiga floppy disks and used the Carnegie Mellon University Computer Club’s stash of retro equipment to bring the doodles back to life. Not Warhol’s finest work but they show his interest of advancing technology. Three decades after their creation they are now Trapped: Andy Warhol’s Amiga Experiments is part of The Invisible Photograph, a five-part documentary series investigating the expansive realm of photographic production, distribution, and consumption by way of the hidden side of photography, whether guarded, stashed away, barely recognizable, or simply forgotten. Watch Andy and Debbie in action in the video.
Cory Archangel’s exhibit, “The Sharper Image” at the Museum of Contemporary Art