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Andy Warhol Ready To Be Admired In Union Square

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) - Andy Warhol returns to Union Square... as a statue.

The ten-foot tall chrome statues was created by visual artists Rob Pruitt who called Warhol a childhood inspiration.

"Being a teenager in a suburb of Washington D.C. in the early 80s, I didn't have a lot of gay heroes or references," said Pruitt.

WCBS 880's Marla Diamond talks with the artist.

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The piece sits just below one of Warhol's former Union Sqare "Factory", reports WCBS 880's Marla Diamond, and shows him wearing a polaroid camera and carrying a medium brown Bloomingdale's shopping bag. Warhol was known to carry around copies of the magazine he founded in 1969, Interview, in a Bloomingdale's bag.

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"The way he could come to terms with death was to imagine instead of being dead that they had just gone to Bloomingdale's," said Pruitt.

He also said everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame.

"Well, not to be arrogant, but it feels just right," said Pruitt.

Jennifer E. Falk, Union Square Partnership Executive Director, told WCBS 880 the statue is a fitting tribute to Warhol.

"Andy had a deep connection to the neighborhood, one of his factory spaces was here," said Falk.

The project was funded by the Public Art Fund and is located in the pedestrian plaza at 17th St. and Broadway.

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