2007-08 Report

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QUEENSLAND ART GALLERY ANNUAL REPORT 2007–08FOCUS: 'ANDY WARHOL'
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VISITORS
l Almost half the visitors to 'Andy Warhol' were from
regional Queensland, interstate and overseas.
l The average age of adult patronage was 38.7 years.
l Based on surveys conducted during the exhibition:
l 35 per cent of people were visiting the Gallery for
the first time, while 27 per cent visited two to four
times per year.
l 24 per cent of Up Late attendees were visiting the
Gallery for the first time.
OPENING CELEBRATIONS
The Honourable Anna Bligh, MP, Premier of Queensland,
officially opened the exhibition on Friday 7 December
2007. The Official Opening was followed by an Opening
Party, which featured a special performance of Velvet
Underground songs by Robert Forster and a band of
well-known local musicians. During the opening weekend,
more than 800 people attended public programs.
THE EXHIBITION
Warhol's early works from the 1950s and 1960s, created
while he was a commercial artist in New York, were
displayed in Gallery 1.1. This section of the exhibition
presented some of Warhol's first experiments with Pop,
such as the American dollar bill works, the iconic
Campbell's Soup Canworks and his famous Brillobox
sculptures. Laying the groundwork for the rest of the
exhibition, these early works introduced the artist's
interest in advertising, fashion, glamour and beauty,
and showed techniques such as blotted lines and
stamped images that became defining characteristics of
this period of his art practice.
The screening room in the centre of Gallery 1.1 integrated
Warhol's best known films into the exhibition. Influential
films from the 1960s, including Sleep1963, Empire1964
and a series of Screen Tests1964–66, were shown.
Gallery 1.1 also displayed Warhol's first portraits of the
early 1960s, portraits of icons such as Mao Zedong,
Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley, and his celebrity
portraits of the 1980s.
The Long Gallery featured multiple monitors screening
episodes from Warhol's television programs from the late
1970s, flanked by a three-storey wall of famous Warhol
quotes. Several episodes from the Fashion 1970–80
series were screened along with episodes from his later
series Andy Warhol's T.V.1980–83 and Andy Warhol's
Fifteen Minutes1985–87.
Gallery 1.3 featured a dramatic selection of Warhol's late
works, including his experiments with abstraction and
iconic works of the 1970s and 1980s such as Hammer
and Sickle 1976, Dollar Sign1981 and the last
Camouflage 1987 works. This grouping addressed key
subjects in Warhol's last decade of practice, focusing
particularly on his return to painting.
A broad range of documentary photographs of Warhol and
his milieu was also on display, including social scenes
at the Factory, clubbing at Studio 54, and Warhol making
art and films. Also presented was a projection of a
sequence from Andy Warhol's Factory Diaries, Self-
Portraitpaintings, Time Capsules, drawings, photographs
and videos.
The exhibition included images of Warhol by
photographers such as Billy Name, Nat Finkelstein and
Christopher Makos, providing a visual chronology from
the 1960s to the 1980s. Film and video featured in this
section of the exhibition, and included The Velvet
Underground and Nico 1966.
FILM PROGRAMS
The Australian Cinémathèque presented an in-depth
survey of Andy Warhol's film productions, as well as film
and video programs which explored the personalities and
artistic context of New York during the 1960s. Warhol's
influence on later independent and experimental cinema
from North America was also explored.
From 1963 to 1968 Warhol produced approximately 600
films, including nearly 500 individual Screen Testsand
more than 60 released titles. The 51 restored films and
279 Screen Testsfrom the Museum of Modern Art,
New York, was one of the largest and most complete
surveys of Warhol's film work compiled internationally.
The program traced the development of his experimental
and underground films, expanded cinema, and scripted
and improvised scenarios. It also offered visitors a unique
opportunity to see — in their original 16mm-film format —
rarely screened films such as Soap Opera1964, The Life
of Juanita Castro1965 and Screen Test #11965. Warhol's
best known films, such as Kiss1963–64, Blow Job1964
and The Chelsea Girls1966, were also screened.
Warhol and his Superstars presented documentaries and
feature films that examined the complex social and
artistic context for Warhol's film productions, drawing
attention to the many collaborators and personalities
associated with Warhol's Factory studio, and New York's
avant-garde community.
Cinema in Revolt considered Warhol's contribution to
postwar queer experimental cinema from North America,
and its ongoing links to contemporary independent film
and video work. This landmark program, featuring 66
short and feature films by American artist–filmmakers,
included screenings of restored film prints by Kenneth
Anger, Gregory Markopoulos and John Waters.
As part of the Andy Warhol Summer Festival, the
Australian Cinémathèque presented a selection of classic
movie musicals which celebrated Warhol's fascination
with 1930s Hollywood screen idols Shirley Temple and
Judy Garland.
Curator of International Art David
Burnett discusses works featured in
the 'Andy Warhol' exhibition as part
of the Look Out teacher workshops
in February 2008.
School groups enjoy activities in the
Silver Factory: Andy Warhol for Kids,
at the Children's Art Centre.