Andy Warhol is a giant of the 20th century American art scene. His images of soup cans and stars like Marilyn Monroe are instantly recognizable, decades after his death in 1987.
At Michigan State University’s Broad Art Museum, there’s a new exhibition featuring his photographs of women.
For Inside The Arts this week, WKAR’s Scott Pohl talks with the two student curators behind the show.
The Broad Art Museum last featured the legendary artist in 2018, when curator Steven L. Bridges put together “A Day in the Life of Andy Warhol.” This time around, Bridges has asked two student curatorial research assistants to assemble a new show for the summer. One of them, Morgan Braswell, says “We got the email at the same time, and we both kind of just went oh, OK, this is like an exciting challenge.”
Braswell and Nat Swartz assembled this exhibition. It’s called “Who Is She? Andy Warhol and the Muse Reimagined.”
The museum is obligated to feature Warhol works from the permanent collection at least once every ten years by the Andy Warhol Foundation.
For Swartz, this was an opportunity to deeply explore Warhol’s impact. “In my perspective,” Swartz stated, “I think that our generation has more of a relationship with Andy Warhol as a brand, a commercial entity, rather than Andy Warhol in his entire, like, scope of art.”
Warhol was an avid photographer who made extensive use of a Polaroid camera. While exploring the collection, Swartz and Braswell found lots of Polaroids taken at The Factory, Warhol’s studio in Manhattan, and many were of women.
Almost 40 Warhol works are here, and Polaroid images are prominent.
Braswell says the exhibition brings new perspectives to the concept of a muse. “We say muse as if this just somebody who, you know, is meant to pose as sort of a static figure,” said Braswell. “Without these women, Warhol would not have reached that success in the way he did, and we really wanted to highlight that.”
Braswell added that for these Polaroids, Warhol posed women in a certain way. Whatever his intentions were for the photos, Braswell says the women you see here are being their authentic selves.
For Swartz, the exhibition is a representation of Warhol’s process. “Andy Warhol was obsessive in, like, documenting his life,” she concluded. “He recorded over 35,000 tapes and took over 85,000 photographs during the course of his life, and so we just have a small collection of those, but that’s part of the reasoning as to why we’re including the Polaroids. It’s Andy Warhol behind the silkscreen productions.”
Along with the Polaroids, the exhibition includes three of Warhol’s larger silkscreen works, along with an excerpt from the documentary film “Andy Warhol”. Director Kim Evans made the film in 1987, the year Warhol died.
In addition, Braswell and Swartz have included a portrait of Warhol taken by famed photographer Helmut Newton. There also are works that fit the theme of the Muse, like artist Audrey Flack’s “Lady Madonna,” and pieces by David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, and Lillian Bassman.
“Who Is She? Andy Warhol and the Muse Reimagined” is in the Broad Art Museum’s Stanley and Selma Hollander Gallery through July 2.
With Inside The Arts, I’m Scott Pohl.
UPCOMING ARTS EVENTS
The Williamston Theatre presents “Music in Billtown” tonight, featuring Rochelle Clark and The Familiars. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.
The annual Pumpstock music festival is back. The Americana music event includes acts like The Springtails and Abigail Staufer and the Bang Bangs. That's from 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday in Bailey Park in East Lansing.
On Sunday, hear the Mirana String Quartet as part of the MSU Music in the Garden series in the Beal Botanical Garden, starting a 1 p.m.
Transcript:
Scott Pohl: Andy Warhol is a giant of the 20th century American art scene. His images of soup cans and stars like Marilyn Monroe are instantly recognizable, decades after his death in 1987.
At Michigan State University’s Broad Art Museum, there’s a new exhibition featuring his photographs of women.
For Inside The Arts this week, I talked with the two student curators behind the show.
The Broad Art Museum last featured the legendary artist in 2018, when curator Steven L. Bridges put together “A Day in the Life of Andy Warhol.” This time around, Bridges has asked two student curatorial research assistants to assemble a new show for the summer.
Morgan Braswell: We got the email at the same time, and we both kind of just went oh, OK, this is like an exciting challenge.
Scott Pohl: That’s Morgan Braswell. She and Nat Swartz assembled this exhibition. It’s called “Who Is She? Andy Warhol and the Muse Reimagined.”
The museum is obligated to feature Warhol works from the permanent collection at least once every ten years by the Andy Warhol Foundation.
For Swartz, this was an opportunity to deeply explore Warhol’s impact.
Nat Swartz: Um, in my perspective, I think that our generation has more of a relationship with Andy Warhol as a brand, a commercial entity, rather than Andy Warhol in his entire, like, scope of art.
Scott Pohl: Warhol was an avid photographer who made extensive use of a Polaroid camera. While exploring the collection, Swartz and Braswell found lots of Polaroids taken at The Factory, Warhol’s studio in Manhattan, and many were of women.
Almost 40 Warhol works are here, and Polaroid images are prominent.
Braswell says the exhibition brings new perspectives to the concept of a muse.
Morgan Braswell: We say muse as if this just somebody who, you know, is meant to pose as sort of a static figure. Without these women, Warhol would not have reached that success in the way he did, and we really wanted to highlight that.
Scott Pohl: Braswell says that for these Polaroids, Warhol posed women in a certain way. Whatever his intentions were for the photos, Braswell says the women you see here are being their authentic selves.
For Swartz, the exhibition is a representation of Warhol’s process.
Nat Swartz: Andy Warhol was obsessive in, like, documenting his life. He recorded over 35,000 tapes and took over 85,000 photographs during the course of his life, and so we just have a small collection of those, but that’s part of the reasoning as to why we’re including the Polaroids. It’s Andy Warhol behind the silkscreen productions.
Scott Pohl: Along with the Polaroids, the exhibition includes three of Warhol’s larger silkscreen works, along with an excerpt from the documentary film “Andy Warhol”. Director Kim Evans made the film in 1987, the year Warhol died.
In addition, Braswell and Swartz have included a portrait of Warhol taken by famed photographer Helmut Newton. There also are works that fit the theme of the Muse, like artist Audrey Flack’s “Lady Madonna,” and pieces by David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein (LICK-ten-stine), and Lillian Bassman.
“Who Is She? Andy Warhol and the Muse Reimagined” is in the Broad Art Museum’s Stanley and Selma Hollander Gallery through July 2.
With Inside The Arts, I’m Scott Pohl.
