#1. Andy Warhol Museum AND #7. See a show at Heinz Hall

Last Friday was a very productive day for me in terms of this bucket list. I got to check off two things! I visited the Andy Warhol Museum during the day AND I saw a show at Heinz Hall that evening. It was such a lovely day with lovely people.

First things first - the Andy Warhol Museum. I saw my first Andy Warhol exhibit at the Allentown Art Museum when I was around 12 years old. My older brother, Andre, who was probably the first person to influence my appreciation of the arts, took me. I recently told this to a friend of mine and he said, "Are you kidding me, you saw a Warhol exhibit 10 years ago? I would have been scarred for life." I didn't know what he was talking about because I always thought Warhol's work, though sometimes controversial, to be an honest expression of popular culture - things we all think about (or maybe even are afraid to think about), but definitely don't say out loud. The awesome thing about the Warhol Museum is that the art collection is so dynamic - there are prints, paintings, sculptures, film and video, and even interactive pieces in this museum. The even better thing is that Andy Warhol was from Pittsburgh, so the culture of the museum is rich.

I visited the museum with my friend Mel, and our new friends, Turner and Antwan, who were in town to perform the musical American Idiot (I'll get to that awesomeness a little later!). Photography on most floors of the museum is not permitted, but Turner sneaked a few awesome shots during our visit. I was less brave and only photographed on the floors it was allowed on. Check em out!

 (Photo credit: Turner)

 (My photos)

(Photo credit: Turner)

This was my favorite exhibit BY FAR. This is the Silver Clouds room. It was by chance that the silver clouds came about. In 1964 Warhol asked scientist Billy Klüver to make a floating light bulb for him. Klüver said,

"I went back to Bell Labs and discussed the problem with my colleagues. We looked into batteries, lights, a material to contain helium, etc. We did some calculation and tests and decided it could not be done without the bulb being very large, because of the weight of the batteries, lights, etc. Meanwhile, Harold Hodges found a material that was highly impermeable to helium and could be heat-sealed easily. Made by 3M, it was called Scotchpak and, we were told, used by the army to wrap sandwiches... We told Andy we could not make the light bulb but showed him the material we had found. When Andy saw it he said, “Let’s make clouds.” ... Andy simply folded the material over and heat-sealed it on three sides and filled it with helium. Warhol’s “pillows” were born."
 (from the museum website).

I read a quote by a six-year old child about the clouds that said somethings along the lines of, "I just like to lay down and watch the clouds pass by." So, that is what I did. I laid down in the middle of the room and just watched as the silver clouds passed over my head, bouncing from Mel, to Turner, to Antwan, to me. 

 (Photo credit: Turner)

 (My photos)

For all things about the Andy Warhol Museum, check out the website at: http://www.warhol.org/

Now for #7 on my list: see a show at Heinz Hall. This is kind of a cheat item. I forgot that I saw Ben Folds perform with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra there my freshman year (which was an insane experience. I wanted to cry because that man has so much talent pouring from him). But, Heinz Hall is too beautiful of a place to not return to. The friends I mentioned earlier, Turner and Antwan, are in the Green Day musical, American Idiot. I actually saw the show a week before in Philly. I was a little iffy of seeing it because when I first heard Green Day was creating a musical I thought, "What the hell is this going to be like?" But, my friend, Mel, who first saw it in London, was such an advocate and convinced me to see the show with her. All I can say is, HOLY CRAP! I was so wrong, and I am embarrassed of my initial ambivalence to see the show. First of all, the cast is amazingly talented, especially for how young they all are. Second, I was hooked by the moment the curtain rose (you'll understand when you see the set). Third, I cried... more than once (but I also laughed my ass off). Fourth, I forgot how much I actually LOVE Green Day's music. Fifth, do I really need to say more? This talented group is touring the US right now and performing in a bunch of locations across the country. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE tell you friends, mom, dad, grandma, hairdresser, dentist, whoever about the show and go see it ASAP!! It is two hours of your life you will want to keep repeating. I mean, I saw the show twice and am already planning on seeing it a third time in a few weeks. It's just that good.

Here is the link to the website so all you lovely people can find the nearest location and experience all the originality and rage and love that is American Idiot: http://www.americanidiotthemusical.com/

I didn't have much to take pictures of with this one, but here are a few (one featuring my beautiful friends Hannah, Mel, Chelsy, and Meg who I saw the show with):

From left to right: Hannah, me, Mel, Chelsy, Meg