Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands by Andy Warhol
“Warhol: Portraits and the Everyday” will open Jan. 22 and continue through March 6, 2019, at Lee Gallery, the primary exhibition space for Clemson Visual Arts (CVA).
The first gallery exhibition of the spring semester at Clemson University will feature original art from one of the most iconic artists of the 20th century, Andy Warhol.
In conjunction with the exhibition, Jonathan Flatley – the author of “Like Andy Warhol” – will deliver a special presentation about the artist during a guest appearance on Friday, Jan. 25.
“Warhol: Portraits and the Everyday” showcases the artist’s practice through three distinct but related platforms: Polaroid portraits, black and white photographs, and his large, colorful, screen-printed portraits. By bringing these three creative pursuits together in one gallery, viewers will get a snapshot of Warhol’s fluid approach to art and life.
Warhol’s Polaroid portraits of celebrities, couples and individuals were created as resource material for his larger commissioned screen prints. The collection of Polaroids in the exhibition present individuals in repeated but slightly different positions, as directed by Warhol during their photo sessions. When viewed together, the Polaroids reveal subtle changes of expressions by the sitter. They also provide a thought-provoking counterpoint to our current fascination with selfies and the mediated presentations of identity through social media platforms.
“I was most interested in showing Polaroid portraits for what can be discovered by looking closely at the subtle changes taking place within the sitters’ expressions,” said Lee Gallery Director Denise Woodward-Detrich. “In these works, we see Warhol capturing various states of individual transformation through the simple use of repetition. These sittings allowed Warhol to select specific poses, but seen together they provide a portrait of the individual that is more complex than can be captured in one snapshot.”
Warhol’s black and white photographs function as a documentation of the people, places, objects and activities unfolding around him every day. For the viewer, they provide insight into the life of a famous artist, but for Warhol they were a way to collect and record things he liked and might potentially use later as a resource.
Photographs in the exhibition are on loan from the University of South Carolina-Upstate and East Tennessee State University. Both universities were granted original Warhol photographs for viewing and study as part of the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program, organized by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The Legacy Program distributed Warhol’s photographic works to colleges and universities across the country to provide greater access to these relatively unknown bodies of work.
Jonathan Flatley’s presentation on his recent book “Like Andy Warhol” will be celebrated with a reception from 5-6 p.m. and with a presentation by Flatley held from 6-7 p.m. in the Lee Hall auditorium (Lee 2-111). Flatley is an associate professor of English at Wayne State University in Detroit. He is the author of “Affective Mapping: Melancholia and the Politics of Modernism” and co-editor of “Pop Out: Queer A follow-up talk will move into the Lee Gallery, where the “Andy Warhol Portraits & The Everyday exhibit is installed.
Flatley’s presentation is made possible through the generous sponsorship of the Humanities Hub at Clemson University.
The “Warhol: Portraits and the Everyday” exhibition is open to visitors 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday through March 6. All events are free and open to the public.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Lee Gallery Director Denise Woodward-Detrich at woodwaw@clemson.edu.
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The Center for Visual Arts – Lee Gallery at Clemson University is known to be a catalyst for showcasing the research of art students, faculty, national and international artists. What is not commonly known is that it also offers an internship opportunities to Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) students. The program is run by the gallery director, Denise Woodward-Detrich. Student interns gain hands on experience and professional development by working on real life projects. Students also receive custom course credit based on hours not to mention valuable experience to put on their resume.
Interns, Hannah Cartee and Leah Brazell developed and delivered a gallery talk with interactive activities to almost 50 middle school students. Activities took place at a permanent art installation in Hardin Hall and at MFA alumnus, Richard Lou’s, Stories On My Back installation in the Lee Gallery. Additional projects include introducing visiting artist, Richard Lou at his artist talk and writing an article for the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) thesis exhibition, Solastalgia, which is scheduled to open in the Lee Gallery later this month on Monday, Oct, 31.