Andy Warhol is one of my favorite artists so I was very excited to see his exhibit here at DU. The space is very interesting because it is somewhat reflective of his work. The walls were silver, white, black, yellow, or blue, and these bold colors are reminiscent of his use of color. It was interesting how Warhol's work was mixed in with portraits of him taken by others and the work of a few close friends. I think it actually may have been better if they had streamlined the space by separating his work from the work of others because it was somewhat confusing at times.
I liked the use of multiple media in this exhibition. There were videos, photographs, and silkscreen prints. The inclusion of video was particularly nice because the space was not silent. It felt right for an Andy Warhol exhibit because he seems so dynamic, so silence would have been a bit unnerving.
I thought it was interesting to see the portraits Warhol took of individuals because I was unaware that he took simple photographic portraits. There was a series of photographs of men and women, all against a white background. I read that Warhol tended to adhere to traditional gender roles in his portraits and I saw this to be true. The women stood out to me the most, both because they were incredibly feminine and clearly represented the style of that era. I noticed that the women often wore bright lipstick and had very pale faces. It made them all seem very glamorous.
I found it interesting how his photographic portraits differed so significantly from his silkscreen works. The photographs were very straightforward whereas he took quite a bit of artistic liberty in altering the silkscreens. I believe this difference can be attributed to the different subjects: he altered the silkscreens because they depicted pop icons of the time or consumer products. I enjoyed his sequence titled "Myths" because it seemed to poke fun at the characters that have infiltrated American consciousness. I particularly liked the one titled "Mammy" because it seemed to be a commentary on racial stereotypes. Mammy's skin was jet black and her large lips were highlighted in red. The visual effect was stunning and it made me think of how race is often portrayed so dichotomously. I also enjoyed the one titled "Uncle Sam". Uncle Sam's face was outlined half in red and half in blue, which implies the political division of Democrats and Republicans.
The focal point of the exhibit was a series of silkscreens of Mao. In typical Warhol style, Mao's face, clothing, and the background were manipulated and presented in different combinations of bold colors. Though I found the series to be visually stimulating, I think it would have been nice to see some sort of explanation of the series' meaning to Warhol.
My favorite series was the series of Jagger portraits. I love the Rolling Stones, so I was automatically drawn to these works. Here, Warhol's experimentation with androgyny is apparent. Warhol often played up the fullness of Jagger's lips by highlighting them with bold, feminine colors such as pink and red. One of the portraits also included teal stripes above Jagger's eyes that reminded me of whorish eyeshadow. His long hair also added to the androgynous feel. I thought the little blurb next to the series was helpful here because it pointed out the continuity between the Ladies and Gentlemen series and the Jagger series.
In sum, the Warhol exhibit did not disappoint. It was nice to see some of Warhol's work that stepped outside of the pop art genre that he is most well-known for. It was interesting to get an insiders perspective and see the world that he lived in because it made his work all the more accessible to the audience.
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