Andy Warhol Exhibition in London
Haywood Gallery on London's South Bank Entertains American Artist
Oct 21, 2008
London's Hayward Gallery is a vibrant centre for major arts exhibitions located at the Southbank Centre on the south bank of the River Thames.
The Hayward mounted its original Warhol exhibition, Andy Warhol: A Retrospective in 1989. This latest exhibition looks at his affect on popular culture in the 20th century and offers a new perspective on Warhol's artistic legacy.
Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms
This intensive, visually striking and fascinating exhibition leaves the senses reeling and is expected to attract record numbers of visitors. The show has already enjoyed immensely successful showings at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Moderna Museet, Museum of Modern Art, in Stockholm. It was at the Moderna that Warhol held his first European exhibition in 1968.
Andy Warhol (1928-1987), real name Andrew Warhola, was a painter, record producer, avant-garde film maker and author. He was a central figure in the movement known as Pop Art and the exhibition represents every aspect of his creativity including sketches and drawings, album covers, wallpaper designs, Polaroid photographs, films, video and television programmes.
Warhol is remembered for his association with distinctly varied social circles which included street people, artists, Hollywood celebrities, and aristocrats.
He is also remembered for two phrases:
- "15 minutes of fame" - he was referring to the few minutes of fame that accompany media attention. It wanes as other people or objects attract the media/public attention.
- "All is pretty" - every media should be treated equally.
Highlights of the exhibition include:
- The intriguing self-portrait Andy Warhol: Self-Portrait with Skull created by Warhol in 1977.
- Time Capsule 92 - between 1974 and 1987 Warhol filled more than 600 boxes with bits and pieces that showed what it was like to be alive and famous in the 1970s and 80s. His Time Capsule 92 includes invitations, receipts, newspaper cuttings, letters and photographs of Jackie Kennedy, The Beatles and Dennis Hopper.
- Screen prints including Flowers, Electric Chairs, and the iconic Campbell Soup Tins.
- Prints of the many famous personalities that Warhol photographed including Liza Minnelli and Marilyn Monroe.
- In the 1980s Warhol made a number of cable TV serials including Fashion, Andy Warhol’s TV and Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes. All episodes are being screened synchronously in a specially created installation by Berlin designers, chezweitz & roseapple.
- In addition to the TV serials, the exhibition features 19 of Warhol's mostly black and white films including Sleep (1963), Empire (1964), Poor Little Rich Girl (1965), and Chelsea Girls (1966). These are being screened simultaneously and the effect of all these snatches of sound and image is certainly impressive.
- The Factory was Warhol's original New York City studio from 1962 to 1968. Warhol created video diaries - the Factory Diaries - recording events at the studios. Many celebrities are caught on video including Liza Minnelli who said, "As a friend he was fabulous, as a force he was formidable". The diaries also provide a fascinating insight into Warhol's creative process.
Andy Warhol: A Guide to 706 Items in 2 Hours 56 Minutes - Exhibition Catalogue
A fully illustrated 176-page catalogue has been published to accompany the exhibition. The book, edited by Eva Meyer-Hermann, includes contributions by Geralyn Huxley, curator of Film and Video at The Andy Warhol Museum, the artist Mike Kelly, art critic Hal Foster and Warhol Museum Archivist, Matt Wrbican.
Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms runs until 18 January 2009 and details of all events connected to the exhibition can be obtained from the Southbank Centre. More information about Warhol's life and work can be obtained from The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts.
Sources:
- Wrenn, M., Andy Warhol in his Own Words, p.87, Omnibus Press 1991.
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