Art Hag

Field Trip: The Andy Warhol Museum | Pittsburgh, PA

During my quick jaunt to Pittsburgh over the summer, I wasn’t sure I’d have enough time to visit The Andy Warhol Museum—I’ve seen so much of his work over the years, I wasn’t entirely sure it would be worth the effort. I am happy to say I was convinced to make the effort and check out the museum because it is terrific! Warhol’s signature, bold Pop Art gems are well represented—the soup cans, celebrity portraits, flowers, electric chairs, skulls, cows… but there is so much more to see with 7 floors dedicated to showcasing his massive oeuvre.

Opened in 1994 in Pittsburgh, the city where Andrew Warhola was born, the Warhol museum is the “global keeper of Andy Warhol’s legacy.” The museum maintains 900 of the artists’ paintings, about 100 sculptures, approximately 2,000 works on paper, 1,000 prints, 4,000 photographs, 60 films, over 4,000 videos, and 200 of his Screen Tests.

The vast archives of Warhol’s personal belongings contain approximately half a million objects! The collection includes his library, art supplies, scrapbooks, correspondence, books, diaries, clothing, tchotchkes, approximately 4,000 audio tapes, over 30 of his shocking-white wigs, and more. The archives also contain an almost complete collection of Interview magazine, launched by Warhol in 1969, as well as 610 of the artist’s Time Capsules, a project started in 1974 in which he collected items from his daily life (newspapers, maps, fanzines, letters, pictures, trinkets, food…) and packed and sealed them away into cardboard boxes to be opened at a later time (the museum is cataloguing each Time Capsules’ contents and regularly exhibits items from one box.)

Highlights of the museum's incredibly comprehensive collection include Warhol’s student work from the 1940s, his early drawings [including 25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy (sic), a sweet, illustrated book he collaborated on with his mother, Julia], and his commercial illustrations. These works, along with a series of childhood and family photographs, show another side of the artist—a simpler side that preceded his glamorous Factory/Studio 54 superstardom.

During my visit in August, the museum presented a special exhibition, Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei which  explored Warhol’s influence on Ai as well as the influence both artists have made on modern life. Juxtaposing several pieces of Ai’s artwork alongside Warhol’s throughout the museum, the exhibit compared the two artists’ works (i. e. how both documented their lives, created readymades a la Marcel Duchamp, and employed flowers to make provocative points) and how they address politics, capitalism, communism, and social issues.

If you happen to be in Pittsburgh, be sure to visit the Andy Warhol Museum—I’m definitely glad I did! Learn more about it at warhol.org. To see more on Warhol, see my post from 2010 here on Andy Warhol: The Last Decade at the Brooklyn Museum. To see more on Ai Weiwei click here for my post on his 2013 exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC and here for my post on his 2014 exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.

Self-Portrait, ca. 1943

Seated Girl Looking at Bird Cage, ca. 1940s

Nosepicker I: Why Pick on Me (originally titled The Lord Gave Me My Face but I Can Pick My Own Nose), 1948

So Happy, 1950s

Cat in Front of Church, ca. 1959

Magazine Advertisement ("It's a Real Genuine Fake!") for Fleming-Joffe, Ltd., 1963

Female Head and Hands Applying Eyeliner, no date

Female Fashion Figure, no date

Make Him Want You, 1961

Campbell's Soup Can, 1962; Neolithic Pottery with Coco-Cola Logo, Ai Weiwei, 2007; Coca-Cola [2], 1961

Colored Vases, Ai Weiwei, 2011; Elvis 11 Times [Studio Type], 1963

Self-Portrait, 1963-64; Three Marilyns, 1962; Red Jackie, 1964

Exploding Plastic Inevitable room

Silver Clouds, 1966

Debbie Harry, 1980

Dolly Parton, 1985

Helene Rochas, 1973-74; Mick Jagger, 1975

Blossom, Ai Weiwei, 2015 (front); With Flowers, Ai Weiwei, 2012-15 (rear)

Self-Portrait, 1966-67; At the Museum of Modern Art, Ai Weiwei, 1987

African Lion, a gift to Warhol from John Reinhold in the early 80s

Champion Ador Tipp Topp (Cecil), 1921-30 (purchased by Warhol from a Third Avenue antique shop and kept in his office until his death in 1986.)

 

 

 

Field Trip: The Miller House and Garden | Columbus, IN

It’s no secret I am crazy about Eero Saarinen’s work (see my past posts here and here), so finding myself in Indiana this summer, I absolutely had to visit his phenomenal work, the Miller House and Garden, located 50 miles south of Indianapolis in a small city called Columbus (~population under 50,000). I was not disappointed. The house is perfect. I immediately fell in love and wanted to move in!

Commissioned in 1953 by J. Irwin Miller (Chairman and CEO of Cummins Engine) and his wife Xenia, Saarinen was a friend of the couple’s, having previously designed a summer house for them in Muskoka, a resort area in Ontario. The house in Columbus was to serve as the Miller’s full-time residence where they could raise their five children and entertain guests and business associates.

Completed in 1957, the Miller House is the quintessential Mid-Century Modern home, featuring a vast, open layout, flat roof, walls of glass, and lots of marble. The house is configured beneath a tic-tac-toe grid pattern of skylights supported by steel columns allowing natural sunlight to flood the inside. The sleek, minimal interiors are made warm and cozy by the brilliant, whimsical designs of Alexander Girard. Girard designed the sunken conversation pit in the living room as well as a 50-foot long storage wall that displayed the family’s books and mementos. Girard filled the home with colorful, unique artwork and decorative items he found around the world as well as designed on his own, including collages; furniture pieces; an elaborate, multi-level dollhouse (with dolls representing the Miller family); table settings; and vibrantly patterned curtains, rugs, and needlepoint cushions. Xenia Miller’s colorful collection of glass objects—paper weights, boxes, vases and decanters—are showcased throughout the home, complementing Girard’s curated pieces while infusing her personality. The gardens surrounding the home are no less breathtaking. Created by the celebrated landscape architect Dan Kiley, the acres of geometrically composed grounds act as a lush, natural extension of the house.

In 2000, the Miller House was named a National Historic Landmark—this was the first instance in which the honor was bestowed on a building while one of its designers, Kiley (1912 - 2004), was still living and while the home was still occupied by an original owner (Xenia lived there until her death in 2008. Irwin died in 2004). In 2009, the Miller children generously donated the house to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It’s been open for tours since 2011. To see photos (unfortunately interior photography is not allowed on the tour) and to learn more about this magnificent historic house, go to the Indianapolis Museum of Art website here.

Columbus, Indiana is ranked number six in the U.S. for architectural innovation and design by the American Institute of Architects. The city owes this to Irwin Miller, who in 1954, established the Cummins Engine Foundation. Initially set up to find young, talented architects to design a school for the community so Cummins could attract young, talented engineers… the success of this project inspired the design of additional public buildings in the county (funded by Miller’s foundation).

Among the many notable buildings in the area are two churches designed by two Saarinens: First Christian Church designed by Eliel Saarinen (Eero’s father) was completed in 1942; and North Christian Church, the last building designed by Eero Saarinen was completed in 1964 (Eero passed away in 1961 at the age of 51). Learn more about Columbus and its impressive architecture at Columbus Indiana Visitors Center here.

Note: According to Design Within Reach’s blog, the PBS program American Masters will premiere Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future in December. I’ll definitely be tuning in!

Screen shot of living room taken from imamuseum.org

Screen shot of conversation pit and storage wall taken from imamuseum.org

Screen shot of kitchen taken from imamuseum.org

Field Trip: Mattress Factory | Pittsburgh

During a road trip this summer, I passed through Pittsburgh for a few hours where I discovered Mattress Factory, a wonderful contemporary art museum. Founded in 1977 by artists, Mattress Factory supports artists working in residence to create site-specific installations, videos, and performance pieces. The museum has presented new works by over 650 emerging and established artists from all around the world. Each of the five stories of the main building as well as its outdoor spaces (a rear garden and the roof top) exhibit extraordinary, often large-scale and immersive work that “allows artists to respond to developments in technology, explore audience interaction, and challenge traditional artistic ideals and practice.” The museum also shows additional work at two neighboring buildings.

James Turrell, who currently has 3 works on permanent exhibit at Mattress Factory, recently donated one of his signature Skyspaces to the museum (learn more here). They hope to inaugurate the work in 2017—yet another reason for me to return to Pittsburgh and re-visit this stellar museum. Click here for their website. Below are some highlights from my visit.

spherodendron, 2015, Bill Smith

Infinity Dots Mirrored Room, 1996, Yayoi Kusama

It's All About ME, Not You, 1996, Greer Lankton

It's All About ME, Not You, 1996, Greer Lankton

IRIS_SIRI, 2016, Kevin Clancy

Lining, 2016, Ian Brill

Lining, 2016, Ian Brill

Catso, Red, 1967/1994, James Turrell

Danae, 1983, James Turrell