Andy Warhol exhibit: Other Voices, Other Rooms

by Jamie Rhein on

Back in August, it seemed as if there would be oodles of time to revisit “Andy Warhol: Other Voices Other Rooms,” the exhibit at the Wexner Center for the Arts. Time, however, has a way of speeding by faster than I anticipated. After this Sunday, the fabulous exhibit of everything Warhol that has taken over the entire art museum at The Ohio State University in Columbus will be dismantled.

The exhibit is a retrospective of Warhol’s life and work– and like Warhol’s work, it is an eclectic assortment of art, graphics, newspaper articles, videos and an interactive performance space. Every inch of the museum’s galleries have been used to create a Warhol world of sorts.

The first time I saw the exhibit was at the opening in August. My first response was wondering when Warhol ever sat down or slept. Along with his famous prints of Marilyn Monroe, Campbell’s Soup and other cultural icons, there are many of the photographs he took, all the television episodes he created, and his interviews with people like John F. Kennedy Jr. and David Bowie. Each room offers a retrospective of certain aspects of Warhol’s creative interests, pursuits and perspectives. Woven throughout is his interaction with the world, himself and the arts. After he was shot and seriously wounded by Valerie Solanas, Warhol even turned that experience into art and commentary.

The room devoted to Warhol’s TV shows is one of my favorite sections of the exhibit, partly because of the effect of its execution. I noticed that while visitors sit on star-shaped stools watching whichever video screen captured their fancy, they became part of the exhibit in a way. Individual headphones allow for several people to sit at one time in front of their own individual screen while other people mill about taking in the entire scene of the room. This moving in and out between private and public experiences was one of the themes of Warhol’s life.

For anyone who has been influenced by popular culture and reality TV which, honestly, seems to be everyone I can think of, this exhibit is a look into Warhol’s vision of what was to become mainstream. Think of Joe the Plumber, Heather Mills McCartney, Harry Wittington, John Mark Karr, James Frey and who else? These are folks who represent Warhol’s phrase, “15 minutes of fame” referring to how celebrity status comes and goes quickly based on media attention. Although some people stick around longer than 15 minutes, the point is, the media helps create the celebrity. (The only person I could come up with off the top of my head was Joe the Plumber, so I found this article in Time magazine “15 people who had their 15 Minutes of Fame” to help me out. See? Fame is fleeting.)

If you do make it to the exhibit, take time to read about Warhol’s early life. You’ll find out how and why a person born in Pittsburgh to immigrants parents, one a coal miner, could grow up to be that eccentric, trendsetting fellow who wore wigs of platinum-blond hair.

To give people more time to see it, the Wexner Center has extended hours this coming weekend. Friday, February 13 (11 AM to midnight), Saturday, February 14 (10 AM to midnight), and Sunday, February 15 (10 AM to 8 PM). On Thursday from 4-8 pm, you can see the exhibit for free, otherwise there is a cost if you are over 12. Those 12 and under are free. Adults, $8; students, ages 13-17, and age 65 and older, $5.

Here’s a video tour of the exhibit, but the in person experience is this many times over. I’m planning on heading here again myself.

Eiteljorg Museum of Native Americans and Western Art

by Jamie Rhein on

The Eiteljorg Museum of Native Americans and Western Art is located where I didn’t expect it to be. I don’t know why it surprises me that it’s in Indianapolis, Indiana. I assumed it was in the Southwestern part of the United States. But, now that I’ve typed out Indianapolis, Indiana, and see how the word Indian appears twice, I think, well that’s fitting. According to the Web site, the museum is one of the only two museums east of the Mississipi River to focus on Native American art. Contemporary art and Western culture and history are part of the museum’s focus. Georgia O’Keefe, Andy Warhol and Charles Russell’s work, among other notable artists are included in the collection

Here’s a video tour of the contemporary art exhibit with a commentary–just another reason to head to Indianapolis. This weekend is the WestFest, a family day of cowboys, entertainment, art and food.

New World of Coca-Cola Museum Opens Today

by Jamie Rhein on

Once in a while one story leads to another. I was writing a post about Winter, the guy who is traveling around the world visiting Starbucks, when I headed to the Coca-Cola museum Web site. It turns out there is a grand opening today in Atlanta, Georgia. The Coca-Cola museum has a new look. It’s now called The New World of Coca-Cola Museum. Through Memorial Day (Monday) the celebration is taking place at the Pemberton Place green space.

Since the doors opened today at 2:00 visitors have been milling about looking at memorabilia, the traveling art exhibit of Andy Warhol’s paintings, the the bottling line and going to the 4-D theater.

I went to the old museum several years ago. My favorite part was the drink rooms where you can sample Coke products from around the world. There are 70 different flavors to try, but according to the Coke Web Site there are a lot more than that. One soft drink, for example is Cheers. I found out about it at the Virtual Vendor. If you click on the beverage type, then click on one of the brands that comes up, you can find out what the soda is called, what it tastes like and which country it is sold in. If you happen to be drinking a soda right now, maybe it’s a spin off from Coke.

Beautiful Cities in Dreams

by Adrienne Wilson on

Isn’t funny how our dreams can
capture places we’ve never been, yet only seen on TV or in some glossy magazine with such detail and color, that you
would wake having sworn you had been? For some of you, your journey to Paris or Prague will only take place during the
dark hours of night, while others will twirl pencils for moments on end, daydreaming about being anywhere, but in the
office. Then there are the very lucky few who will one day be actually strolling down a bustling Tokyo street on a
beautiful morning to later stumble into the Watari Museum of
Contemporary Art. Photography, sculpture and installation enthusiasts will be happy to find and to know that they
are neither sleep walking or in the Twilight Zone, but at I Love Art 8’s "Beautiful Cities in
Dreams" exhibit running for another 52 days in Tokyo.

Over 100 works by 13 photographers will
allow visitors to the museum to encounter cities from which they’ve probably dreamed about at least once or twice and
if they haven’t before they’ll be dreaming about afterwards. Some of the artists include August Sander, Man Ray, Diane
Arbus, Robert Frank, Andy Warhol, Olaf Nicolai and more.Sounds like an awesome little event to explore while in Japan
and if you’re hip to the lingo you’ll find more details available at the museum
website, but only in Japanese. Check out Tokyo Art Beat
for a few more details to better help you if you’re around the town.

via Tokyo Art Beat