The largest collection of Andy Warhol pieces Asia has everseen is coming to the Chinese mainland this month, featuring over 400 paintings, photographs, screen prints, drawings and sculptures by the pop-art icon.
An enormous treasure trove, the Beijing show will boast substantially more works than were displayed in both Singapore and Hong Kong, where the 15 Minutes Eternal exhibition toured last year. Running until July 28, it is being held at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the capital’s leading cultural institution that was opened last year to great fanfare. 15 Minutes Eternal draws its title from Warhol’s famous quote: “In the future, everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes.”
Arranged chronologically, works include ‘Campbell’s Soup,’ ‘Marilyn Monroe’ and ‘Brillo Boxes.’ Notably absent, though, will be the series of Mao portraits the artist made in 1973.
Speaking about the omission, Eric Shiner, director of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said in a statement in March that “although we had hoped to include our Mao paintings in the exhibition to show Warhol’s keen interest in Chinese culture, we understand that certain imagery is still not able to be shown in China and we respect our host institutions’ decisions.”
It has been suggested by some Chinese media that the authorities did not take kindly to the appearance of Mao Zedong seemingly wearing makeup.
Arguably, though, Warhol would have been delighted with the embargo on the images, which has only served to heighten media buzz and excitement around the exhibition. Poohpoohing the role of artist as starving creative, Warhol was of the opinion that becoming famous and generating cash was essential, writing in The Philosophy of Andy Warhol that "making money is art, and working is art and good business is the best art.”
Revolutionizing the role of the artist, Warhol widely mass produced his works, never feeling the need to hand-craft individual pieces – an idea that has become commonplace among today’s creatives.
“Warhol is one of a number of artists who have presented us with a new idea of the role of the artist which, while radical in the 1960s, has become a standard way of working for many contemporary artists,” says Chambers. “Numerous works in the exhibition were created solely by Warhol and visitors may be surprised to discover his ability as a draughtsman, for example.
“There are also works that were produced with the input of friends, colleagues and other professionals. In these cases we can perhaps think of Warhol in the mode of ‘producer.’”
By insinuating himself across fashion, music, television, film and publishing, he simultaneously developed his reputation across diverse strata of society, reaching audiences through dogged self-promotion and proving himself the ultimate player of the fame game.
“I think that one of Warhol’s many masterstrokes was the ‘feedback loop’ he managed to construct between his artwork and popular culture at large,” says Chambers. “That it continues to function 25 years after his death is an extraordinary testament to his legacy.”
// 15 Minutes Eternal is showing from September 29 to November 15 at the Art Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, 8 Huajiadi Nanjie, Chaoyang District 中央美术学院美术馆花家地南街8号 (10 6477 1067; www.cafa.edu.cn)
// As featured in the October issue of That's Beijing. Follow us on twitter, @Thats_Beijing or Facebook.
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