An afternoon, with child, at the Warhol
Today for a change of pace, Myles & I went to the Warhol this afternoon. Not nearly as much fun as other museums, but we had our moments.
The Warhol, in case you don't know, is Pittsburgh's museum dedicated to exhibiting, collecting, and studying Andy Warhol. In addition to its Warhol-focused activities, they curate and host exhibits of related artists. This is where my sister Megs and I went to see the opening of the Darger and the Grayson Perry shows.
One of the first things Myles and I did after getting there (and, okay, after eating) was venture down to their studios for "Weekend Factory." Similar to the Carnegie Museum's Artventure, or rather not unlike, the museum sponsors opportunities for artistic exploration with a theme for all ages, not just the little kids. Sometimes they set out Warhol-like materials, like silkcreen paint and stencils. Kate and I have jokingly wondered what they do if they want to allow the kids to re-create the "Oxidation Paintings." When the description says "mixed media" they really mean urine. However, that was NOT the project for today. Today, in connection with the Darger and Perry shows, they had collage-making as the primary project (there was also one to make your own imaginary friend, like those in the paper dresses at the opening). You could choose the hollowed-out exoskeleton of a discarded book or album cover to collage on to make your own book. Myles chose---are you ready for this?--the album cover for a Gregorian Chant LP because it had a picture of a church on it. That got him very excited.
So we cut out flowers and birds from old wallpaper samples, and Myles colored fairies (that he called angels) that they had photocopied, and he drew on colored paper that I had to cut out for him.
Then came the fun and games with the glue stick. Some of the cut-outs went over the words, some over the picture on the front. Some of the glue made it on the correct side of the images, a lot more of it on the outward side (which made for my sticky fingers the rest of the day).
So here is the back of the book.
Here is the front. The drawing on the yellow shape on the left is a small dog. The drawing on the pink shape on the top is a big dog. A "dog fence" is between them on that other yellow cut-out. Immediately below the big dog is a heart. Myles thinks this is covering Jesus. I don't think there was a crucifix on the album artwork originally, but you can see how he thinks this is where it would belong. Notice, though, the perfectly framed priest and Host. I didn't ask him what those cut-outs were; so far we were Harry Potter free:-).
With our requisite art project completed, at least as far as we could get with what was on hand at the Warhol (we plan to paint some and make this into a book of drawings), we ventured upstairs to the galleries. I decided to skip the Darger and Perry, for a multitude of reasons but most of all time, and dragged Myles up to the fifth floor. I had to get what every other Hip Mama in Pittsburgh has--pictures and video of their child(ren) playing in the Silver Clouds Gallery. This is a recreation of an installation Warhol did in the 1960s where he filled a room with Mylar helium-filled balloons that drifted on air currents. They bounce off the ceiling, the walls, each other, you...... I have been in the Warhol on days when I have been the only person in the Silver Clouds. There is something very empty set of a cheaply made 1960s sci fi tv show about it that is fun. Also when you are alone the quiet chaos is so cool. However, it was totally more fun to watch Myles chase them. When we talked to Daddy before bedtime of this room Myles told him about the "kids laying on the floor," which were people lying on their backs taking pictures of the balloons, and how he made the balloons crash.
Caught one!
When we were in a room with the Brillo Boxes and others, Myles pointed them out to me.
"Boxes don't go in museums," he told me.
"Well, sure they do, when they aren't real boxes. See, they are wood painted to look like boxes," I explained.
He still didn't buy it, evidenced in the video I shot where after identifying some of the letters on the boxes he kept shaking his head at the fact that they were in a museum. Thank goodness for toddlers for whom Pop Art will always be a challenge and a surprise.
The Warhol, in case you don't know, is Pittsburgh's museum dedicated to exhibiting, collecting, and studying Andy Warhol. In addition to its Warhol-focused activities, they curate and host exhibits of related artists. This is where my sister Megs and I went to see the opening of the Darger and the Grayson Perry shows.
One of the first things Myles and I did after getting there (and, okay, after eating) was venture down to their studios for "Weekend Factory." Similar to the Carnegie Museum's Artventure, or rather not unlike, the museum sponsors opportunities for artistic exploration with a theme for all ages, not just the little kids. Sometimes they set out Warhol-like materials, like silkcreen paint and stencils. Kate and I have jokingly wondered what they do if they want to allow the kids to re-create the "Oxidation Paintings." When the description says "mixed media" they really mean urine. However, that was NOT the project for today. Today, in connection with the Darger and Perry shows, they had collage-making as the primary project (there was also one to make your own imaginary friend, like those in the paper dresses at the opening). You could choose the hollowed-out exoskeleton of a discarded book or album cover to collage on to make your own book. Myles chose---are you ready for this?--the album cover for a Gregorian Chant LP because it had a picture of a church on it. That got him very excited.
So we cut out flowers and birds from old wallpaper samples, and Myles colored fairies (that he called angels) that they had photocopied, and he drew on colored paper that I had to cut out for him.
Then came the fun and games with the glue stick. Some of the cut-outs went over the words, some over the picture on the front. Some of the glue made it on the correct side of the images, a lot more of it on the outward side (which made for my sticky fingers the rest of the day).
So here is the back of the book.
Here is the front. The drawing on the yellow shape on the left is a small dog. The drawing on the pink shape on the top is a big dog. A "dog fence" is between them on that other yellow cut-out. Immediately below the big dog is a heart. Myles thinks this is covering Jesus. I don't think there was a crucifix on the album artwork originally, but you can see how he thinks this is where it would belong. Notice, though, the perfectly framed priest and Host. I didn't ask him what those cut-outs were; so far we were Harry Potter free:-).
With our requisite art project completed, at least as far as we could get with what was on hand at the Warhol (we plan to paint some and make this into a book of drawings), we ventured upstairs to the galleries. I decided to skip the Darger and Perry, for a multitude of reasons but most of all time, and dragged Myles up to the fifth floor. I had to get what every other Hip Mama in Pittsburgh has--pictures and video of their child(ren) playing in the Silver Clouds Gallery. This is a recreation of an installation Warhol did in the 1960s where he filled a room with Mylar helium-filled balloons that drifted on air currents. They bounce off the ceiling, the walls, each other, you...... I have been in the Warhol on days when I have been the only person in the Silver Clouds. There is something very empty set of a cheaply made 1960s sci fi tv show about it that is fun. Also when you are alone the quiet chaos is so cool. However, it was totally more fun to watch Myles chase them. When we talked to Daddy before bedtime of this room Myles told him about the "kids laying on the floor," which were people lying on their backs taking pictures of the balloons, and how he made the balloons crash.
Caught one!
When we were in a room with the Brillo Boxes and others, Myles pointed them out to me.
"Boxes don't go in museums," he told me.
"Well, sure they do, when they aren't real boxes. See, they are wood painted to look like boxes," I explained.
He still didn't buy it, evidenced in the video I shot where after identifying some of the letters on the boxes he kept shaking his head at the fact that they were in a museum. Thank goodness for toddlers for whom Pop Art will always be a challenge and a surprise.
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