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Wed, Dec 24, 2008
Dazzling, Immersive Exhibition Transforms Wexner Center
700+ Works Offer Fresh Look at Warhol’s “Cosmos”
Events Include Symposium, John Waters, Andyland, Music Panel, Drag Day, More
"An audacious installation....at once fresh, relevant, and rigorous."—Ann Goldstein, senior curator at L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art, in Artforum's Best of 2008 issue
"Obligatory viewing."—critic and editor Jack Bankowsky in Artforum's Best of 2008 issue
“A major survey….Sprawling and omnivorous.”—Art in America
“A feast of riches.”—The Columbus Dispatch
Columbus, OH—The Wexner Center’s presentation of Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms—the only U.S. installation of this show—features dynamic, multimedia, environments that immerse the viewer and offer a fresh look at the persona and practice of the celebrated Pop Art master. On view at the Wexner Center from September 13, 2008 through February 15, 2009, Other Voices, Other Rooms showcases more than 700 works and items dating from 1949 to 1987, including films and TV programs, paintings, photographs, drawings, prints, wallpaper, installations, objects, seldom heard audio recordings, and extraordinary archival material. Together, these works focus on such concepts at the heart of Warhol’s work as consumer culture, sexual identity, social transgression, and the eradication of distinctions between high and low culture. Giving equal weight to all media that Warhol used, the exhibition sheds new light on the cinematic sensibility that pervades his work.
Organized by the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Moderna Museet in Stockholm—and curated by Eva Meyer-Hermann, an independent curator based in Cologne, Germany—Other Voices, Other Rooms has transformed the Wexner Center, sweeping through the entirety of the Wexner Center’s distinctive galleries, as well as up its ramp and throughout its lower lobby. The architect/design team of chezweitz & roseapple, based in Berlin, designed the Wexner Center installation of the exhibition, just as it did for the exhibition’s European venues.
“Upon visiting this astounding and ingenious exhibition in Amsterdam late last year, I immediately set the wheels in motion to bring it to the Wexner Center,” says Sherri Geldin, director of the Wexner Center. “It explores afresh the remarkable legacy of an artist who utterly transformed the cultural landscape of his own time, but also foretold with uncanny prescience today’s media-obsessed society. Given Warhol’s masterful manipulation of virtually every artistic medium, what better place than the multidisciplinary Wexner Center to present this exhibition. And what a spectacular opportunity to see it specially redesigned for the center’s distinctive galleries, which themselves have an almost cinematic character.”
Other Voices, Other Rooms (whose title is taken from the Truman Capote novel about a young man exploring his identity) was first on view at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in the fall of 2007 before traveling to Stockholm’s Moderna Museet in early 2008; it drew huge crowds at both venues. In an unprecedented and somehow “Warholian” act of doubling, the Wexner Center’s presentation of this exhibition will overlap with its showing at the Hayward Gallery in London October 7, 2008–January 18, 2009. The presentations will be similar—with the multimedia work, prints, photographs, and wallpapers to be replicated—but not exactly alike, with different paintings and archival material in particular. The design of the show will be similar (chezweitz & roseapple is designing the show for the Hayward as well, using the same design concepts), but—due to architectural differences—not exactly the same.
THE EXPERIENCE
The visitor experience begins with introductory photos and text about Warhol. From there, the exhibition unfolds loosely in sections:
At the heart of Other Voices, Other Rooms—as a thread that winds through the center’s angular galleries and up the ramp (which is covered with a red carpet especially for this show)—is the Cosmos, highlighting Warhol’s ways of thinking and working, and his imperturbable eye for detail. The first gallery introduces the Cosmos with 40 of his Screen Tests (with screens suspended from the rafters, featuring Warhol’s filmic portraits or “screen tests” of Factory personalities); audio listening booths, with audio fragments of Lou Reed, Truman Capote, and others in Warhol’s world; self-portrait wallpaper; Polaroids; Interview magazines, and other archival material. Installed up the ramp are The Factory Diaries, in which Warhol captured life on video in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, offering glimpses of such celebrities as Edie Sedgwick, John F. Kennedy Jr., and David Bowie; also up the ramp are photographs of Warhol by others and quotes by Warhol. Later in the show visitors will see the 1967 filmic document of Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable, the series of multimedia events that featured music by The Velvet Underground; objects from one of his Time Capsules (featuring items and detritus from his everyday life); and the interactive Silver Clouds—essentially large floating “pillows” (partially filled with helium) that drift around the room and among visitors.
In the forest-like Filmscape section—filling the two middle galleries at the Wexner Center—visitors explore a cinematic landscape that includes 19 films on large screens made between 1963 and 1968, including Sleep, The Chelsea Girls, Kitchen, and Mrs. Warhol. These films were Warhol’s experiments; secluded behind the camera, he depicts—without intervening—behavior in all types of situations, using time and observation as his ingredients. Thanks to a special audio design with directional speakers above each screen, this room allows for viewing each film as a distinct piece. These rooms also feature his “Mao” and “Cow” wallpapers.
The TV-Scape section of the exhibition presents, synchronously, all 42 cable television episodes that Warhol created between 1979 and 1987, along with a selection of rarely screened videos. Each TV program has its own screen and star-shaped seat announcing the celebrity featuring in that particular TV segment. In this section of the exhibition, the artist projects his voyeurism onto everyone—stars and ordinary people alike—in the medium that seemed best suited to the job. Warhol had a keen eye for detail and trivia, which carried over into and influenced the development of print media (such as in his magazine Interview) and broadcast, as evidenced in the TV-Scape.
In addition, The Box video space in the Center’s lower lobby will be devoted to the filmic works of Warhol throughout the run of the show.
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Andy Warhol (1928–1987), more than any other artist, merged the public with the private, the glamorous with the mundane, celebrity with anonymity, and ravenous voyeurism with seeming indifference. Well before the proliferation of media culture, he famously predicted that everyone would have their 15 minutes of fame—virtually foretelling the advent of American Idol and YouTube. Drawing upon the quite radical impulses coursing through American culture in the ’60s, Warhol incisively captured and reflected much that would ultimately demarcate a sea change in our social fabric of that time, with potent ramifications since.
Says curator Eva Meyer-Hermann, “Andy Warhol once wondered about how it would be if one mirror would reflect another. He declared that everything which we want to know can be seen on the surfaces of him and his works. I thought I had to look behind these surfaces, but realized that what we are looking for is not behind but in front of them. Warhol’s surfaces reflect the world; his works are about you and me.”
A podcast featuring Meyer-Hermann discussing Warhol and this exhibition is available here (or access it via wexarts.org/wexblog (filed under “Exhibitions”).
Additional multimedia content related to this exhibition and Andy Warhol can be found at http://www.wexarts.org/warhol/.
OPENING WEEKEND
The Member-Only Exhibition Preview will be held Friday, September 12 from 9 pm to midnight, with a Media Preview from 11 am to 1 pm that day. And on Saturday, September 13, Robert Forster pays tribute to the Velvet Underground (see “Music Events,” page 4, for details).
Lambert Family Lecture
Remembering Andy: A Conversation with John Waters and Vincent Fremont
Friday, October 3 | 7 pm
Weigel Auditorium (adjacent to Wex—1866 College Rd.)
$15 general public (includes one free gallery admission for October 3 or 4), $5 members, Warhol club cardholders, free for students
Listen in as two icons discuss Andy Warhol’s films and his lasting influence on cinema and American culture. Inimitable filmmaker John Waters (Pink Flamingos, the original Hairspray, Crybaby) has made a career of pushing the boundaries of his art form, just like Warhol, and his earliest work was inspired by Warhol’s films. Director and producer Vincent Fremont began working for Warhol in 1969 and played an integral role in Warhol’s subsequent film, television, and video production, later serving as vice president of Andy Warhol Enterprises. Tonight the two trade Warhol stories, insights, and reminiscences. Made possible by generous support from the Lambert Family Lecture Series Endowment Fund.
SYMPOSIUM Andy Warhol: Outer and Inner Dichotomies
Join us for a dynamic, engaging discussion of Andy Warhol, his work, and his continuing influence among artists, curators, critics, and members of Warhol’s circle.
Keynote Conversation
Friday, November 14 | 7 pm
$8 general public; free for members, Warhol Club cardholders, Ohio State students/faculty/staff
In our keynote address on Friday evening, critic and Warhol biographer Wayne Koestenbaum converses with artist Francesco Vezzoli, whose fascination with celebrity rivals Warhol’s own. For tickets, call (614) 292-3535. (Ticket includes one free gallery admission for November 14 or 15.)
Saturday sessions
Saturday, November 15 | 10:30 am– 4 pm
Free; no tickets or preregistration required
Saturday’s speakers include Eva Meyer-Hermann, the curator of Other Voices, Other Rooms; actress and author Mary Woronov; Callie Angell, author of Andy Warhol Screen Tests: The Films of Andy Warhol; filmmaker and artist Morgan Fisher; and distinguished art historians
Richard Meyer and Thomas Crow. Hear behind-the-scenes stories and revealing insights into Warhol’s
life and legacy. Wexner Center curators Bill Horrigan and Catharina Manchanda will moderate. Visit http://www.wexarts.org/ex/index.php?eventid=3271&page=2 for a complete schedule.
MUSIC EVENTS Given Warhol’s impact on the music world, the Wexner Center is hosting two Warhol-related concerts:
Robert Forster plays The Velvet Underground will be performed Saturday, September 13 at 8 pm, Wexner Center Performance Space ($14 public; $12 members and Warhol Club cardholders, and students). Celebrate the opening weekend of Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms with this special event spotlighting the music of art-rock legends the Velvet Underground—a band Warhol produced and championed. Robert Forster, one of the founders of revered Aussie indie band The Go-Betweens, performs timeless Velvets’ classics. The Wexner Center is one of only two venues in this country to host Forster’s tribute concert, which he originally performed with his band at a Warhol exhibition in Queensland. (The other venue is Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Museum.) Forster and his excellent combo rip into “I’m Waiting for My Man,” “All Tomorrow’s Parties,” “What Goes On,” and others from the Velvets’ influential catalog.
The lighting and staging will evoke Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable multimedia events. A ticket to this show grants visitors admission to the galleries that day and evening. More info on Forster: http://www.robertforster.net/
13 Most Beautiful... Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests/Dean Wareham & Britta Phillips will be presented Thursday, November 20 at 8 pm in the Wexner Center Performance Space ($14 public; $12 members and Warhol Club cardholders, and students). Husband and wife team Dean Wareham (of Galaxie 500 and Luna fame) and Britta Phillips (also formerly of Luna) and currently recording and performing as Dean & Britta, have composed new music for a special selection of Warhol’s famous Screen Tests, which they will accompany live with their band. The Screen Tests—four-minute black-and-white silent film portraits from the 1960s—were used, as were other Warhol films, as part of the light show for Warhol’s 1966 multimedia happening, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, which showcased the radical art rock of the Velvet Underground. Dean & Britta (who also scored the acclaimed feature film The Squid and the Whale) probe the subtle nuances of mood reflected in the Screen Tests’ portraits, lyrically and musically illuminating the shadowed psyches of the candidates for Factory Superstardom who willingly submitted to Warhol’s cool cinematic gaze. 13 Most Beautiful…Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests, is commissioned by the Andy Warhol Museum and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust for the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts 2008. More info on Dean & Britta: http://www.deanandbritta.com/. A ticket to this show grants visitors admission to the galleries that day and evening.
Earlier that evening (November 20) is Peel Slowly and See: Warhol, Music, and Image, a free panel discussion in our Film/Video Theater at 5 pm. The panel’s title comes from the instructions that accompanied Andy Warhol’s iconic album cover for The Velvet Underground and Nico (which Warhol also produced). Join us for a lively discussion about the intersection of pop art and popular music with musician Dean Wareham (see above); Mark Richardson, critic and managing editor of indie music bible Pitchfork; and Barry Shank, professor of Comparative Studies at Ohio State. Stay after the discussion for a book signing.
ADDITIONAL EVENTS
GenWex Presents
Andyland
A Late-Night Feast for the Senses
Saturday, November 8 | 10 pm–2 am
$45 general public; $35 Wexner Center members and Warhol Club cardholders
It’s a fete in true Warhol style. Hop into a photo booth, dodge the paparazzi, and imagine yourself as a Warhol Factory superstar, surrounded by a band, DJ, impersonators, and copious amounts of glitzy décor. The Wex transforms into Andyland for a night of moving, shaking, and stargazing, with fine food and beverages, too. The party climaxes with a special DJ set by Columbus native and hip-hop star RJD2. Find out more and get tickets at wexarts.org.
Warhol First Sundays—Admission these first Sundays is free all day (11 am–6 pm), with special themed activities in the afternoon. The first three:
Drag Day
October 5 | 1–5 pm
Our first Warhol Free Sunday focuses on ideas about identity and the art of drag—both of which have strong connections to Warhol’s work. Visitors can investigate those connections on interactive tours, catch a poetry reading by Peter Oresick from his Warhol-o-rama (a poem-by-poem serial portrait of the serial portrait pioneer) at 1 pm, or take in a special performance by some of Columbus’s finest drag queens (and a king) at 3:30 pm. Visitors can also try drag: we’ll have make-up, wigs, and outfits to try on, or people can bring their own.
Celebrity Soup
November 2 | 1–5 pm
Our November First Sunday will focus on Warhol’s fascination with celebrity culture. Join us for a celebrity portrait activity, screen test stations, as well as a screen printing workshop and a fashion show. We’ll also be screening Ric Burns’ acclaimed 2006 documentary on Warhol (see below).
Faces and Places
December 7 | 1–5 pm
In December, we take on Warhol’s exploration of identity through portraits of people and places in various media. Visitors should be prepared to be interviewed or, at the very least, photographed. Interactive tours, hands-on activities, and a video workshop will be also available (this one takes place during our Zoom Family Film Festival).
Pop Rocks
January 4 | 1-5 pm
Andy Warhol and other pop artists used everyday things like Campbell’s soup cans as the subject of their art, and visitors can bring a canned food item (which will be donated to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank) to sketch on our pop mural. Warhol’s interest in pop music and influence on such bands as the Velvet Underground and the Rolling Stones will also be highlighted; visitors can design their own album cover, take an exhibition tour, or try silk-screening.
Over and Over and Out February 1 | 1-5 pm For this event, the focus is on Andy’s technique of doubling and repetition, seen in works like Twenty-five Marilyns and Double Elvis, and in such videos as Outer and Inner Space. Visitors can examine and experiment with how repetition changes perception through hands-on activities and engaging tours of the exhibition.
Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film
Sunday, November 2 | 1–5 pm (with intermission)| Wexner Center Film/Video Theater — Free
Laurie Anderson narrates this Emmy-winning 2006 exploration of Warhol’s life, work, and influence previously shown as part of the American Masters series on PBS. Ric Burns (Ken’s brother) draws on rarely shown archival footage and varied commentators (including former Wexner Center Curator Donna De Salvo) to construct a compelling portrait of the artist. This screening will be shown during a Warhol First Sunday (free admission to the Andy Warhol exhibition).
Talk and booksigning
Susan M. Rossi-Wilcox Andy Warhol’s Wild Raspberries: Social Satire in the Guise of a Cookbook
Wednesday, January 28 | 4:30 pm
Wexner Center Film/Video Theater — Free
In 1959, Andy Warhol and close friend Suzie Frankfurt combined their talents to create a limited edition “cookbook,” titled Wild Raspberries, which parodies American obsessions with elaborate French food and elegant dinner tables. Find out more about this intriguing project from Susan M. Rossi-Wilcox, the guest curator of a 2008 exhibition about Wild Raspberries at The Andy Warhol Museum. She’ll discuss the food of the 1950s, the French chefs the book spoofs, and the celebrities honored in its recipe titles. Rossi-Wilcox is also the author of Dinner for Dickens: The Culinary History of Mrs. Charles Dickens’s Menu Books (2005).
Walk-in Tours, led by docents, are held Thursdays at 5 pm and Saturdays at 1 pm. These tours last about an hour.
Closing celebration: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
This weekend features late gallery hours (until 10 pm Friday and Saturday); discounts on Warhol merchandise in the store; a closing party/reception from 5 to 7 pm Saturday; and a special concert Saturday night:
Times New Viking ♥ the Velvets
Saturday, February 14 | 9 pm
Wexner Center’s Black Box on Mershon Stage
$10 in advance, $12 day of show (includes admission to the galleries)
Columbus faves Times New Viking offer their own fresh and twisty takes on tunes from the Velvet Underground, the legendary band Warhol produced and championed.
CATALOGUE
Other Voices, Other Rooms is accompanied by an exhibition catalogue edited by curator Eva Meyer-Hermann, also a contributor to the publication. Wexner Center Director Sherri Geldin contributed to he foreword. Other essays include those by Andy Warhol Museum film/video curator Geralyn Huxley, assistant film/video curator Greg Pierce, and archivist Matt Wrbican; artists Mike Kelley, Johan Renck, and Willem de Rooij; scholars Hubertus Butin, Hal Foster, Johannes Schmidt, and Benjamin Meyer-Krahmer; and Olle Granath, permanent secretary of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm. It is for sale in the Wexner Center Store for $50.
An extensive gallery guide also accompanies the show.
WARHOL IN THE STORE The Wexner Center Store, located in the lower lobby of the Wexner Center, is the region’s Warhol headquarters during the run of the show. Visit http://store.wexnercenterstore.com/andywarhol.html for the array of merchandise.
WARHOL CLUB The Wexner Center is offering the Warhol Club card for $25, granting the cardholder unlimited free entry during the run of the exhibition (for the person listed on the card only—not transferable; no guest admission). In addition, Wexner Center member pricing will be matched on Warhol-specific events: the two concerts (Robert Forster’s Velvet Underground tribute September 13, and Dean Wareham/Warhol Screen Tests show November 20), plus the Andyland party on November 8, the symposium, and the John Waters event. In addition, club cardholders will receive a one-time discount in the Store. Club cards are available at the Ticket Office during the run of the show, or by phone (614 292-3535). Click here or to www.wexarts.org/ex/warholclub for more details and to purchase a card.
VISITOR INFORMATION and ADMISSION
Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms is on view September 13, 2008–February 15, 2009 at the Wexner Center for the Arts, 1871 N. High St. (at 15th Ave.) on the campus of The Ohio State University. Gallery hours are Tuesday–Wednesday and Sunday 11 am–6 pm; Thursday–Saturday 11 am–8 pm; closed Mondays. Also closed holidays (November 11 and 20, December 25, and January 1; galleries close at 3 pm December 24 and 31). Admission to Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms is $8 (adults (18–64); $5 for senior citizens (65 and older) and ages 13–17; free for Wexner Center members (all levels), Warhol Club cardholders (see below), college students with valid ID, visitors ages 12 and under. Free admission every Thursday evening (4–8 pm, with a limited menu offered at Cam’s on Campus cafe) and the first Sunday of the month. In addition, visitors with a ticket to a Wexner Center film or performance can view the exhibition free, that day only. Visitors riding a COTA bus to the exhibition can ask the driver for a Wexner/Warhol coupon for $3 off admission. More info: wexarts.org or 614 292-3535.
Shorter version of admission info: Admission is $8; $5 for senior citizens and ages 13–17; free for Wexner Center members, Warhol Club cardholders, college students, and 12 & under. Free admission the first Sunday of the month & every Thursday evening.
EXHIBITION ORGANIZATION AND SUPPORT
This exhibition was organized by the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Moderna Museet Stockholm, in collaboration with the Andy Warhol Museum, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. Curator: Eva Meyer-Hermann. Scenography: chezweitz & roseapple, Berlin.
It is presented in Columbus with lead sponsorship from EXPRESS.
Major support is provided by Nationwide and American Electric Power.
Significant contributions are provided by Univar USA and The Broad Art Foundation.
All Wexner Center exhibitions receive support from the Corporate Annual Fund of the Wexner Center Foundation and Wexner Center members.
Promotional support is provided by the Columbus Dispatch, COTA, NBC4, Ohio Magazine, Orange Barrel Media, Time Warner Cable, and WBNS FM Mix 97.1, and WOSU Public Media.
Warhol Club and Andyland are presented with lead sponsorship from EXPRESS. Major support is provided by American Electric Power and Nationwide.
Warhol Free Thursdays are presented with exclusive lead sponsorship from Nationwide Insurance.
Warhol First Sundays are presented with lead sponsorship from EXPRESS. Major support is provided by American Electric Power and Nationwide. Additional support is provided by AT&T and Cardinal Health.
Accommodations are provided by The Blackwell Inn.
WEXNER CENTER FOR THE ARTS
The Wexner Center for the Arts is Ohio State’s multidisciplinary, international laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art. Through exhibitions, screenings, performances, artist residencies, and educational programs, the Wexner Center acts as a forum where established and emerging artists can test ideas and where diverse audiences can participate in cultural experiences that enhance understanding of the art of our time. www.wexarts.org.
