Ferry cruises between Finland and Sweden are quite big business. Typically it’s has been about partying, getting drunked and all that stuff. I have never been a big fan of that, even when I was young and single.

But during last years I have found other approach to these cruises, which is quite nice. Get abroad in the evening, have a nice dinner – restaurants on these boats are actually quite good these days, not only that same old buffet food again. Sleep the night. Ship arrives Stockholm at ten in the morning and leaves at five in the afternoon, so there is good time to visit some exhibition.

Stockholm has good museums. Fotografiska as a world class photographic museum of course is my favourite. Herb Ritts’ and Francesca Woodman’s exhibitions come to mind first from previous visits.

But this time it was turn of Moderna Museet with their Warhol 1968. I have seen Warhol’s works before in another exhibition. So it was actually nice that Moderna’s exhibition was more about Warhol as a phenomenon than just ordinary art exhibition showing artist’s works.

Sure there were Brillo boxes and Chelsea Girls was screened. But what raised thoughts more than his works was how he made them. He made a brand of himself, was probably more a producer than an artist, he borrowed and stole ideas, drove for media attention. Sounds like 2019 – but he made it some 50 years ago. All this we can like or hate or even ignore – but fact is he was hugely ahead of his time. And that made him star – today he would meet a lot competition, at worst he might be just another instagram celebrity. Our world is so warholish.

Was he serious with all he did? Or was he fooling his audience? Making parody or even some kind of a dystopia? I don’t know, but it leads to a question what would he think about our time? Love it or puke over our social media pushes?

Harbor crane in giraffe livery was photographed from a vaporetto which ran from ferry terminal to Skeppsholmen.