When Warhol came to China
Last year, we were all excited to learn that the Warhol Museum was sending a huge retrospective, titled 15 Minutes Eternal, of Andy Warhol's work to Asia, with stops in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Tokyo. The schedule on the website included place-holders, rather than commitments, for the Beijing dates as recently as this summer. I asked at the Warhol when I was there in June about when to expect it in Beijing, and they were unable to answer. In July a friend of mine went to the Shanghai exhibit, and even then there was nothing firm about Beijing. Finally, just prior to opening in September, the dates were released.
More after the jump
We knew that it really wasn't terribly important for us to see this traveling exhibit of Andy Warhol because we frequently have access to the Warhol museum when we are in Pittsburgh. Even the kids are fairly familiar with his life and work. When Myles' art class co-op was covering Pop Art, his British art teacher was surprised how much he knew about Warhol. And Brigid can recognize a few Warhol icons, like her favorite banana from the Velvet Underground album cover. This summer she even made a shirt at the Warhol with this motif.
Even though it wouldn't be our only exposure to such a collection of Andy Warhol's art, we still really wanted to go see this touring exhibit in Beijing. It may have been because it was a touch familiar, like meeting up with an old friend that happens to be in town. I was definitely curious how Warhol was going to be portrayed to an Asian audience. What was going to be highlighted? What was going to be edited?
The Beijing stop of 安迪·沃霍尔：十五分钟的永恒 is housed at the Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. The school itself is celebrating its 95th year of existence, though it has only moved to Dashanzi more recently.
The title of the show came from the famous Andy Warhol quote about the rise of disposable celebrity culture, "In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes." This was translated into Chinese as, "在未来, 每个人 都 能成名 15 分钟" and was seen throughout the museum on hot pink wall decals as we worked our way through the exhibit.
The exhibit itself was set up chronologically, starting with photos and even some drawings from his early life in Pittsburgh, and then into his more famous years in New York. I really enjoyed looking at his commercial and editorial work. Included in this exhibit were a few sketches he did for (I believe) Glamour magazine. In one, there were three fashion plates of women, identical except for a few changes of posture and accessories. There was also a similar image of three men. My favorite among these was a sketch of a single high-heeled shoe, complete with his scale and reference points for proportions that would have been masked in printing (note that most hyperlinks for the images are to the CAFA website). It was apparent from looking at these how his art career that followed was shaped by these experiences.
Andy Warhol knew how much time, talent, and attention was needed to create these commercial illustrations. Is it any wonder, then, how he would come to repeat images and portraits with his silkscreens? Or celebrate soup cans and Brillo Boxes?
The kids and I ticked off some of the works we knew and expected. Marilyn Monroe. Check. Electric Chair. Check (and such buoyant pieces from this twisted series!). Flowers. Check. Lots of celebrities. Cow Wallpaper (though only a small print rather than a whole wall) Check. Oxidation series. Check. Collaborations with Jean Michel Basquiat. Check (but only very small ones).
The soup cans and Brillo Boxes were installed beautifully. I don't think I have ever seen so many Warhol Soup cans hung in a line like this--it was something to behold. It was strange, though, to see the soup cans and Brillo Boxes in such a darkened room. We're used to someplace a little more light and white walls. Somehow it made it feel more reverent and less fun.
Brigid hunted high and low for a banana, but came up empty. She had even worn her t-shirt for the occasion.
Most famous of the omissions from the Mainland China stops of the exhibit was one of Warhol's Mao portraits. We expected that, but I found it interesting that Hammer & Sickle was included. I also missed The Last Supper, which according to the websites was to be on display and were some of his last work before he died. I also saw no sign of the Warhol Asia-themed Time Capsule that were also to be on the tour.
There were some Warhol Films being shown, but the kids find these boring, so we mostly skipped them. Only in rapid passing did I have a chance to point out the Velvet Underground playing on one of them. There were also televisions playing some of his interviews and work for MTV along one ramp between floors. Finally, there was one of the moving images the kids liked, one in which it seemed like Warhol was just repeating the name "Man Ray" repeatedly. That was hysterical to both Myles and Brigid, who joined him in saying "Man Ray" over and over.
It could have been because this was a weekday, but there was only one hands-on type activity (as opposed to the three that I heard were in Shanghai). Using something like (or perhaps really was) the D.I.Y. Pop App, a museum visitor could have their picture taken and manipulated into a Warhol-like image that was then printed on a button. Myles was uninterested in this, but Brigid was happy to do it, provided on was also made for a toy Frenchy dog she was carrying with her.
This seemed to be an incredibly popular feature of the show. It was Friday afternoon when we were there, and it was positively mobbed.
Myles may not have wanted to have his picture taken for a Warhol-themed project, but he patiently had to allow other museum patrons to photograph him and his sister.
The gift shop was another part of the visit that was particularly interesting to me, wondering what sort of merchandise would be sold for the local market. I saw no catalogs, which could have meant they were sold out, or didn't exist, or weren't easily found in the much handled jumble. There were these Soup Can dice sets, something I don't think I've seen in the Warhol gift shop but are common in China.
There we also the usual assortment of key chains, tote bags and t-shirts, and a few odd (to me) additions of hot pink lamps and seat cushions.
The CAFA paired 15 Minutes Eternal with a retrospective of German artist Joseph Beuys. It wasn't the first time their work has been shown together. What was especially notable about the Beuys exhibit, though, was the emphasis on it being a Chinese-curated show. I hadn't noticed if the Warhol exhibit included any of his portraits of Beuys (I should have!), but another cool addition to this joining could have been this 2002 watercolor by Marlene Dumas' Wound, which shows Warhol and Beuys much more inextricably linked than even art critics would say.
For us, 十五分钟的永恒 was not any more revelatory than a regular visit to the Warhol Museum. However, for the intended audiences in Asia, the exhibit is as comprehensive as anyone would want. I may bemoan the absence of some of my favorite pieces, but for most people what is shown is enough for a decent introduction.
More after the jump
We knew that it really wasn't terribly important for us to see this traveling exhibit of Andy Warhol because we frequently have access to the Warhol museum when we are in Pittsburgh. Even the kids are fairly familiar with his life and work. When Myles' art class co-op was covering Pop Art, his British art teacher was surprised how much he knew about Warhol. And Brigid can recognize a few Warhol icons, like her favorite banana from the Velvet Underground album cover. This summer she even made a shirt at the Warhol with this motif.
Even though it wouldn't be our only exposure to such a collection of Andy Warhol's art, we still really wanted to go see this touring exhibit in Beijing. It may have been because it was a touch familiar, like meeting up with an old friend that happens to be in town. I was definitely curious how Warhol was going to be portrayed to an Asian audience. What was going to be highlighted? What was going to be edited?
The Beijing stop of 安迪·沃霍尔：十五分钟的永恒 is housed at the Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. The school itself is celebrating its 95th year of existence, though it has only moved to Dashanzi more recently.
The title of the show came from the famous Andy Warhol quote about the rise of disposable celebrity culture, "In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes." This was translated into Chinese as, "在未来, 每个人 都 能成名 15 分钟" and was seen throughout the museum on hot pink wall decals as we worked our way through the exhibit.
The exhibit itself was set up chronologically, starting with photos and even some drawings from his early life in Pittsburgh, and then into his more famous years in New York. I really enjoyed looking at his commercial and editorial work. Included in this exhibit were a few sketches he did for (I believe) Glamour magazine. In one, there were three fashion plates of women, identical except for a few changes of posture and accessories. There was also a similar image of three men. My favorite among these was a sketch of a single high-heeled shoe, complete with his scale and reference points for proportions that would have been masked in printing (note that most hyperlinks for the images are to the CAFA website). It was apparent from looking at these how his art career that followed was shaped by these experiences.
Andy Warhol knew how much time, talent, and attention was needed to create these commercial illustrations. Is it any wonder, then, how he would come to repeat images and portraits with his silkscreens? Or celebrate soup cans and Brillo Boxes?
The kids and I ticked off some of the works we knew and expected. Marilyn Monroe. Check. Electric Chair. Check (and such buoyant pieces from this twisted series!). Flowers. Check. Lots of celebrities. Cow Wallpaper (though only a small print rather than a whole wall) Check. Oxidation series. Check. Collaborations with Jean Michel Basquiat. Check (but only very small ones).
The soup cans and Brillo Boxes were installed beautifully. I don't think I have ever seen so many Warhol Soup cans hung in a line like this--it was something to behold. It was strange, though, to see the soup cans and Brillo Boxes in such a darkened room. We're used to someplace a little more light and white walls. Somehow it made it feel more reverent and less fun.
Brigid hunted high and low for a banana, but came up empty. She had even worn her t-shirt for the occasion.
Most famous of the omissions from the Mainland China stops of the exhibit was one of Warhol's Mao portraits. We expected that, but I found it interesting that Hammer & Sickle was included. I also missed The Last Supper, which according to the websites was to be on display and were some of his last work before he died. I also saw no sign of the Warhol Asia-themed Time Capsule that were also to be on the tour.
There were some Warhol Films being shown, but the kids find these boring, so we mostly skipped them. Only in rapid passing did I have a chance to point out the Velvet Underground playing on one of them. There were also televisions playing some of his interviews and work for MTV along one ramp between floors. Finally, there was one of the moving images the kids liked, one in which it seemed like Warhol was just repeating the name "Man Ray" repeatedly. That was hysterical to both Myles and Brigid, who joined him in saying "Man Ray" over and over.
It could have been because this was a weekday, but there was only one hands-on type activity (as opposed to the three that I heard were in Shanghai). Using something like (or perhaps really was) the D.I.Y. Pop App, a museum visitor could have their picture taken and manipulated into a Warhol-like image that was then printed on a button. Myles was uninterested in this, but Brigid was happy to do it, provided on was also made for a toy Frenchy dog she was carrying with her.
This seemed to be an incredibly popular feature of the show. It was Friday afternoon when we were there, and it was positively mobbed.
Myles may not have wanted to have his picture taken for a Warhol-themed project, but he patiently had to allow other museum patrons to photograph him and his sister.
The gift shop was another part of the visit that was particularly interesting to me, wondering what sort of merchandise would be sold for the local market. I saw no catalogs, which could have meant they were sold out, or didn't exist, or weren't easily found in the much handled jumble. There were these Soup Can dice sets, something I don't think I've seen in the Warhol gift shop but are common in China.
There we also the usual assortment of key chains, tote bags and t-shirts, and a few odd (to me) additions of hot pink lamps and seat cushions.
The CAFA paired 15 Minutes Eternal with a retrospective of German artist Joseph Beuys. It wasn't the first time their work has been shown together. What was especially notable about the Beuys exhibit, though, was the emphasis on it being a Chinese-curated show. I hadn't noticed if the Warhol exhibit included any of his portraits of Beuys (I should have!), but another cool addition to this joining could have been this 2002 watercolor by Marlene Dumas' Wound, which shows Warhol and Beuys much more inextricably linked than even art critics would say.
For us, 十五分钟的永恒 was not any more revelatory than a regular visit to the Warhol Museum. However, for the intended audiences in Asia, the exhibit is as comprehensive as anyone would want. I may bemoan the absence of some of my favorite pieces, but for most people what is shown is enough for a decent introduction.
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