Warhol: Art. Fame. Mortality. – Cultural Review

Warhol_PosterOnce acquaintances, possibly even strange friends, Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali are reunited at the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida for the hottest exhibition around town, Andy Warhol: Art. Fame. Mortality. It is a brilliantly constructed exhibition which showcases over 100 Andy Warhol paintings, screen prints, and photographs exploring the artist’s obsession with fame, his innovation of selfies, as well as his rarely discussed encounters with fellow contemporaries. The latter is such an oddity that it has rarely  been discussed over time. This wildly fascinating topic is confronted in the exhibit, showing Warhol in rare form with other celebrities of the time.  Not excluding Salvador Dali, of course.

Upon first thought, it may seem strange that a Warhol exhibition be shown at a museum which is entirely dedicated to a singular artist. And it is even stranger to think of these two artists hanging out with one another, sharing ideas, and even being involved in each other’s creative process.  Am I right? Well, as it turns out, Warhol actually factors into Dali’s legacy-and vice versa-a great deal.

Born in 1904, Dali was an entire generation older than the vibrant pop artist, but age gaps don’t matter in the art world. There was much to learn from each other, especially when it came to their public images and how they utilized mass culture to factor into their works. They first became acquainted when Warhol ventured to Dali’s New York suite at the St. Regis hotel, two photographs of the men casually goofing around in the room holds testament to that.  Likewise, Dali paid a few visits to The Factory, Warhol’s Manhattan-based studio. It is here that the surrealist melded into the pop art world, and became a part of Warhol’s notorious three-minute screen tests in which  subjects were simply asked to sit still and not move for the duration of the film. It is a curious event, as viewer’s get to see the usual poker-faced Dali look extremely uncomfortable for a few seconds before ignoring the instructions and walking off screen.

Warhol and Dali owe each other a little bit of credit.  They sponged off one another, studying their unique obsession with celebrity during their lifetime.  Both were beloved, if not mysterious, public figures, who created controversial images appropriated from their experiences with fame and mass culture.

Aside from his relationship with Dali, the exhibition shows off the quintessential soup cans, Heinz Ketchup Boxes, as well as highlighting Warhol’s creation of “selfies”. Yes, he was undoubtedly the first! He rarely passed up a chance to share the spotlight in photos, and was the manufacturer of his own self-portraits. Just think if he had gotten his hands on instagram!  Among the more iconic pieces in the exhibition, there is the red silk-screen of the artist completed just before his untimely death, as well as the electrifying blue silk-screen of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Let’s be honest here, everyone wishes that we could have been one of Mr. Warhol’s subjects. Which is why the museum has sectioned off a specific area devised specifically to give us all our “fifteen minutes”! Just like Dali and so many others, you get to experience an installation mirroring that of Warhol’s screen tests. Visitors are allowed to sit in front of a camera for three minutes, immortalizing themselves in a short Warholian-esque film forever which you can email, save, and share.

We all know Warhol as the Pop Art darling of the 1960’s, but do we really know him? This exhibit gives you a feeling of intimacy which has never been felt in the past.  The doors are opened a little wider, and you see past the title of artist, and down to the meat of who he truly was.

The show is here in St. Pete until April 27th! There’ still time. So, go get to know Warhol on a personal level.

For more information: http://thedali.org/exhibits/details/2014-01_warhol.php