The grave of Andy Warhol. A morbid locale to be sure, but an ideal place for any Weird Wanderer to see. However, it’s a site I’ve delayed visiting for the worst possible reason: located about fifty miles from my home, the journey was one I figured I could make anytime. Hence, ten years passed under the auspices of this excuse. That is, until last week when I realized if I continued procrastinating, I was liable to end up six-feet under myself, still never having paid tribute to the inimitable artist.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Andy Warhol left an indelible mark on his Steel City hometown, a legacy that endures almost thirty years after his death. But while most people have heard of the city’s famed Andy Warhol Museum, perhaps fewer know that just a few miles south of the city limits, the artistically (and morbidly) inclined make regular pilgrimages to his grave.
Interred at Saint John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery in Bethel Park, the libertine pop artist maintains a hearty thrall over his legion of fans. In fact, there is practically an entire cult following dedicated to the site with a camera feed running round-the-clock so art lovers and virtual voyeurs alike can view the locale from anywhere in the world.
If visiting in person, people tend to bring an offering, usually in the form of a Campbell’s soup can. However, not wanting to follow tradition too closely (Warhol was a trailblazing nonconformist after all), I decided to opt for something different–though still wholly Warholian. In honor of the artist’s famed Velvet Underground album cover, my husband and I left behind a banana–felicitous and biodegradable too.
The cemetery is much smaller than expected, so visitors can locate the artist’s final resting place without issue. If nothing else, the aforementioned cameras–mounted conspicuously on a towering wooden pole–help point the way. The grave is a work of art unto itself with soup cans meticulously displayed alongside an array of other adornments. My fruit donation found a happy home between a glass-encased candle and a religious statue (Warhol was a devoted Catholic, attending mass almost every day). We also paid respects to Warhol’s parents, Andrew and Julia, who are buried directly behind their son.
For a man so obsessed with fame, it’s quite appropriate that even his gravestone has earned its fifteen minutes in the limelight. As with most cemeteries, once you locate the tomb, all you have left is to say whatever incantation suits your beliefs and move on in reverence. But short-lived though it might be, the trip is certainly a worthwhile one.
So if you’re ever in the Pittsburgh area, take the ten-minute detour to honor the life–and death–of an American original. It may not change your life, but it will make your excursion to Pittsburgh a little more artistic… and a whole lot more macabre.
Happy haunting!