The name Andy Warhol is one referenced abundantly in art, film and pop culture and, upon hearing, many likely picture the famous Campbell’s Soup Can design, Marilyn Monroe portraits or even the album cover for “The Velvet Underground & Nico.” 

However, fewer are actually aware of the profound impact Warhol had on Colorado State University, as well as the ways in which he may have laid the foundations for the world of social media that is lived in today.

The Gregory Allicar Museum of Art is currently hosting the two-part exhibition, “Revisited: Andy Warhol’s Social Media and Andy Warhol at Colorado State University,” which will remain open until April 19. 

The exhibit, curated by Linny Frickman and operated by Registrar/Collections Manager Suzanne Hale, showcases Warhol in his connections to CSU and to modern generations, intertwining Warhol’s history and the university’s past with the present-day world.  

Given to the Allicar in 2007, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts gifted universities across the country with artifacts from Warhol’s life. With the goal of ensuring that Warhol’s work remains recognized and shared, the foundation mandated that each university that received a donation revisit and display a significant portion of the works every 10 years.

“It’s creating these little fires of Warhol all over the place,” said Hale, who reflected on the lasting impact of this policy.

In putting together the largest Warhol exhibit at CSU since 2008, the Allicar museum partnered with the University of Wyoming Art Museum and photographer Mark Sink, who documented much of Warhol’s life and photography. 

The 2026 exhibit focused on two separate ideas: Warhol’s visit to CSU and his impact on the university, along with Warhol’s photography exhibited under the social media theme.

Upon entering the exhibit, one first sets foot in the social media section — an assortment of photographs taken by or of Warhol in a curation of the world through his lens.

Warhol, whose character Hale recounted as rather standoffish, seemed to have taken the exhibited photographs not for professional publication, but solely as a means to capture with genuineness the humanity around him. 

“He was just kind of documenting his life and other peoples’ lives,” Hale said. 

Alongside photographs, the exhibit displayed many quotes from Warhol himself, one of which characterized his images as “a visual diary.” 

The idea for the social media theme came from Frickman, who aimed to represent how Warhol documented his surroundings in a manner that foreshadowed significantly the ways that social media is used to document people, places and events today. 

Warhol was very much an influencer of his time, as another of the wall quotes in the exhibition read, “Andy Warhol Instagrammed his life before Instagram existed,” which was a headline from a 2015 New York Post article

Theresa McLaren, the visitor services manager for the Allicar Museum, discussed the influence that Warhol had on pop culture, saying, “Andy Warhol really liked to be seen in the scene.” 

Warhol’s influencerlike status was not only noteworthy for his time, but also for the way his photographic documentation of the world may have played a role in setting the standard for the way people share on social media now. 

Hale noted the significance of Warhol’s prefiguration of social media. “Everything that we do now on social media, it’s not as new as I thought it was. Maybe these (Warhol photographs) are the predecessors.”  

The second section of the exhibit focused on Warhol’s 1981 visit to CSU, with information and images displayed about CSU’s Warhol Campbell’s Soup Can sculpture from 2008, which was constructed by CSU students. 

“This exhibit, in some ways, takes the museum back to its roots,” Hale said, as Andy Warhol artwork was a large part of the museum’s inaugural exhibitions.

Particularly notable in this section were the displays of art that Warhol created in relation to cattle and agriculture. CSU, initially an agricultural school, may not seem like a location of interest for a famous artist. However, Warhol exhibited an infatuation with farm animals, focusing pictures and portraits on cows. Art is something that intertwines with nearly every aspect of humanity, even in fields such as agriculture where art may not initially appear relevant.  

“Art allows us to reach students that maybe wouldn’t be reached otherwise,” said Hale, who then discussed the broader importance of the university’s involvement with artists such as Warhol. “The College of Liberal Arts is really important. … Sometimes we say that sports is the ‘door’ to the university. … I think art may be the ‘door’ to the university for other people.”

Events like Warhol’s visit in 1981 and the 2026 exhibit remind the community of the tremendous influence that art and artists have. Additionally, events like these create opportunities for the university and Fort Collins community to gather in appreciation for art, as McLaren — who was a student at CSU during Warhol’s visit — recalled the enormous gatherings of students and faculty and her own excitement in seeing the impact that Warhol’s work has on the university today. 

“It’s cool to see how everybody came together,” Mclaren said. “It’s an iconic thing to come see.”

Reach Addie Mitchell at entertainment@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.