Last evening I was among the lucky many who attended Andy's 75th birthday party. I am not sure I should call it a party. I should call it a penoerroruum. What with all those people converging on Brillo Box building designed by Andy himself-the magnificent structure that covers all of 9/1 1 downtown.
New York has seldom seen such an event. Prominent werethe tables of all of the Warhol coogtomerates from Africa 10 Bangkok to Vancouver. President Ventura was very visible. BiU Gates, Andy's ciosest rival in the computer industries, was, of course, not excluded from the party, as befits Andy's by now famous aH -inciusivity style of life.
Henry Geldzahler, looking like a Buddha with a cigar, st ill going strong, was speaking to some television people, telling how Andy's art is still going strong, especially his work in the computer and laser arts 10 which he has devoted much of his time these past ten years.
And there was Andy himself, looking very much like I remember him from the first meetings in 1962 now standing under the palm trees in the building he had designed himself-yes, a replica of the famous Brillo Box-surrounded by installation artists, politicians, industrialists and, yes all those gorgeous young women and boys. He was holding in his clasped hands-yes, the cliche image that has appeared on so many billboards--clutching the latest AWZap camera he inboduced live years ago, ~ amazing oost-cotaroid miracle toy that amazed not only letterman, on whose program he first presented it, but also Wall Street when the stocks next morning shot through the ceiling.
For me a very special moment was around lOpm when who arrtves but.. .all dressed up, frock and cane and, yes, the monocle-George Maciunas himself. He was carrying a plate of dumpli ngs which he presented to Andy. Of course, this was, for all of the present, same as Rosebud in Orson Welles' film. t knew tile meaning of it Andy knew it. And George knew it. To all others it was and it will remain mL!secret. Georgenow runs a dozen Fluxus stores in Sobo. New York's bustling shopping Paradise.
Maciunas is having a great lime running his joke stores set1ing Fluxus chairs in which you can rot sit, Fluxus clothing, Fluxus ice-cream that sometimes baffles, confuses, and sometimesinfuriates the tourists..
His most recent additioo to Soho came just this past January when he opened three Fluxus restaurants-one thai serves only white food , another one with blue food, and the third one with red color jood .
Anyway, it was good to see these two pwccateors of the GO's, now both celebrities and multi—billionaires, getting together again, still good friends. Yokel 000, George's wife, was having her own good time with President Ventura who seemed to enjoy the occasion very much.
In the most of all of this comrroton and bustle Andy's art was ignored. Slightly overshadowed by his latest computer art blockbusters, you could seetwo of his best films, Sleep and TheChelseaGirls; both were running at the Scorsese Theater across the Brillo Square. A huge sign by the entrance announced that beginning today a special radio channel is being inaugurated that will run 24 hours a day non-stop airing all of Andy's incredible audio tapes. It will take exactly 365 days to run them all.
What a feast for the social etc. scientists and anthropologists and anyone who likes fun. It's incredible what this guy has done.
So I lift my glass of Andy's wine (Vintage, 1995, the great year for Andy's Montauk vineries) to you, Andy, and I wish you many more!
By Jonas Mekas
