get some culture // Warhol at the Spencer it's not all about the fast food and beer pong.
Somewhat like Perez Hilton, Andy Warhol was famous simply for being famous and made a living talking about and photographing celebrities. Similar to Hilton, his pop art examines the ideas and effects of popular culture,fame and mass production.
The Spencer Museum of Art's new photography exhibit "Big Shots: Andy Warhol, Celebrity Culture, and the 1980s" showcases portraits shot by Warhol of various pop culture icons. Taken mostly with a Polaroid camera, the pieces examine the idea of celebrity culture in the 1970s and 1980s.
The exhibit offers more than just pictures of celebrities, and more artists than just Warhol. There are music videos, prints, posters and other forms of media on display along with the photographs. But perhaps the most interactive
part of the exhibit is the vintage photo booth, where visitors can snap candid photos and get their own dose of celebrity life. Annette Becker, Norton junior and a member of the Spencer's Student Advisory Board, says that the different elements really bring the exhibit to life.
"Warhol's art was all about interacting with people, and art can't exist without people coming to experience it," Becker says.
The exhibit is open in the North Balcony during museum hours. In conjunction with Hawk Week the museum will be playing the film I Shot Andy Warhol at 7 p.m. tonight in the Spencer Museum of Art Auditorium. The movie centers on the life of feminist Valerie Solanas, who attempted to murder Warhol in 1968, and is free.
// ANDREA OLSEN
Contributed photos
These photos of Jean-Michel Basquiat (above), Joan Collins (top right) and Wayne Gretzky were taken by Andy Warhol and are being showcased in the Spencer exhibit.
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August 20, 2009