Warhol photos on display at River Campus

Photographs of the famous, the not-so-famous and the infamous taken by pop-art icon Andy Warhol will be exhibited during the First Friday reception at the Crisp Museum Art Gallery at the River Campus.

The reception for "Andy Warhol Photographs: Recent Gifts From The Photographic Legacy Program" will be from 4 to 8 p.m. today and is the first in a series of local Warhol events that will be held throughout November.

Peter Nguyen, director of the Crisp Museum, said the Warhol photographs will be on display through Jan. 26 and have been gifted to the museum by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

"I started the paperwork with the foundation in 2009," Nguyen said. "We received possession of the photographs in 2011, but due to event scheduling and the time it took to frame the photographs, it's only now that we can show the Warhol exhibition. But some things are worth waiting for."

Nguyen said that 93 Polaroid photographs and 50 black-and-white gelatin prints taken by Warhol will be exhibited and will include images of Carly Simon, Truman Capote and O.J. Simpson.

Simpson, O.J., 8/1977, Polacolor (Andy Warhold ~ The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc.)

"People who grew up with Warhol will recognize the celebrities," he said. "The younger generation may not recognize them, but that's OK. The photographs will also include some of Warhol's friends and anonymous, everyday people."

The photographs provide insight into Warhol's blurring of the distinction between life and art, Nguyen said. Warhol's landscapes and interior settings, both rural and urban, also will be featured in the exhibit.

Warhol, who died in 1987 at age 58, was one of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. A leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art, his artwork explored the relationship between artistic expression and celebrity culture. Warhol coined the phrase "15 minutes of fame" and his photographs, drawings, paintings and films became synonymous with the pop-art movement and have remained highly popular with art enthusiasts and collectors.

Nguyen said the reception is open to the public and he encourages visitors to "get their Warhol on."

Rick Ocasek, 4/80, Polacolor (Andy Warhold ~ The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc.)

"Don't just come to the opening of the Andy Warhol exhibit," he said. "Be Andy Warhol. Come as a Warhol prop like a Campbell's soup can or Coca-Cola bottle or put on a Warhol wig."

Warhol-related events have been scheduled throughout November in connection with the exhibit, including "Portraits: A Four-Week Painting Workshop" by Cleda Curtis-Neal from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday and Nov. 12, 19 and 26 at Crisp Museum; the "Andy Warhol: Up Close and Impersonal" panel discussions from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday at Kent Library and 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Cape Girardeau Public Library; and "Out-takes: Marilyn Monroe, The Mechanical, The Mundane and The Mythical in Warhol's Portraits" at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Crisp Museum.

Wendy Cooper, assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Engineering Technology at Southeast, will be presenting "Out-Takes."

"Out-takes, or leftovers, are terms that Warhol described as being objects where the 'funny,' or the beauty of life, resides," Cooper said. "Warhol was not only in his role as an artist an observer, but he was also an avid participant forcing the viewer of his images to see the security in the mundane and the beauty in the everyday."

Sean Lennon, 1985, Polacolor (Andy Warhold ~ The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc.)

A musically themed Warhol event will be the "Warhol and Music" concert scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at the River Campus Atrium. Dr. Robert Fruehwald, professor of music theory, piano and composition at Southeast and an organizer of the concert, said two songs by the Velvet Underground featuring vocalist Lou Reed, who died Sunday at age 71, will be performed.

"Warhol and the Velvet Underground came out of the same culture," Fruehwald said. "We'll be doing the Velvet Underground's "Venus and Furs," but we're undecided on the second song. We also want to include Frank Zappa's "Sofa No. 2," some John Cage songs and a couple of student and faculty pieces inspired by Warhol. The concert will be very informal, so come one, come all."

Other November events at the River Campus are "Photography Family Day" from 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Crisp Museum and "Fall for Dance 2013" at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21 to 23 and 2 p.m. Nov. 24.

For more information on the "Andy Warhol Photographs: Recent Gifts From The Photographic Legacy Program," contact the Crisp Museum at 651-2260. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

518 S. Fountain St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.