Monday was the last day of school break and since we had everything ready I thought we should do something fun. I checked the listings for things on in Tokyo then remembered that most museums are closed on a Monday - bugger! BUT, then I spotted the
Andy Warhol Exhibition on at the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi - perfect!
The only drawback is the trip there, it takes about an hour and a half and we have to get on a commuter train (which means getting badly squashed). I don't know how people can do that day in and day out - truly awful experience! Ebi-kun wasn't impressed either.
We spotted the Ebisu god as we changed trains, obviously we had to take a photo! Such tourists!
We made it to the museum just before it opened. I was a bit confused with the tickets, they had set up a special Andy Warhol Cafe, which I thought would be fun to go to but it is in the observation deck and you need an extra ticket to go to the observation deck. Anyway, it turned out that the section where the cafe is, you don't need to pay extra for - just in case you decide to go and are confused too! You also get to see the views without the extra charge!
The Mori building is 54 floors and the gallery is on the 52nd, that is quite a long way up!
You are not allowed to take photos inside the exhibition so you'll have to use your imagination a bit. It was really well done, thoughtfully laid out and the English explanations were great - obviously not done by google translate! I can't say I am a big Warhol fan but I do appreciate the influence he had in modern art culture and it was really interesting to learn more about him and his thinking.
The exhibition is mixed media, so not only his art and sculptures they have a room with video footage that he took and another where they re-created the silver studio where he worked. There were interviews on video and they had The Velvet Underground playing (he was their producer) Ebi-kun was not a fan of their music, he said that it sounds like someone being murdered!
I made Ebi-kun a quiz sheet to take round with him, I will do a separate post on that but it definitely helps to make the exhibitions more meaning full when he has to figure out the answers.
Once we were done, it was lunch time so we eventually figured out where the cafe was and that we didn't need to pay extra to go in! The floor was artificial grass which was fun and there was copies of his artwork on all the tables. They also have an installation of his rain machine set up.
The menu is very limited, we decide to get the lunch set and share it. It was a burger, (cold) fries, signature Campbells soup and a drink…
And we decided to sit at the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, an amazing vista, the skyscrapers in the distance are Shinjuku, we could see Mount Fuji too but only just. It is such a big city, it goes on for miles and miles!
I must admit, the thought of what we would do if there was an earthquake crossed my mind more than once!
For dessert we tried the Warhol Parfait. I have no idea why but Ebi-kun is going through a phase of 'The Fonz' thumbs at the moment!
I think a close up of the parfait in all it's glory is needed! It was very sweet, and a good job we decided to share or I think we would have both been sick! It did get us to wondering what kind of special food would we have in out imaginary artists cafe - I feel a project coming on there!
After lunch we decided to explore the area a bit, we found a map which had all the different outdoor art sculptures on it, so we went on a hunt to find them all. We missed 2, I think and decided we had had enough and headed home - before the trains got too busy.
Great day out, highly recommend the art show, perfect way to finish the holidays!
**edited** We made a great time capsule inspired by this day out, check it out HERE
