Warhol Online: An Exhibition to the Artist and His Muses

Andy Warhol's instant portraits redefined not only photography but also pop culture. Through the partnership of Fotagrafiska New York with Hedges Projects, Warhol's iconic photography radiates across the Internet through the online exhibition Warhol: Photographs.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Ladies and Gentlemen (Easha McCleary), 1974. Unique polaroid print © 2020 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Hedges Projects; Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Ladies and Gentlemen (Helen/Harry Morales), 1974. Unique polaroid print © 2020 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Jim Hedges Projects.

Launched on 29 June in celebration of Pride Month, the exhibition recalls Warhol's studies and visual perusal of gender and identity through the two series Sex Parts and Torsos and Ladies and Gentlemen. The people in Warhol's portraits consist of those active of the LGBTQIA+ movement during the 1970's. In both series, Warhol used his Polaroid camera.

The white frames became a defining part of his aesthetic, and the pop of colors influenced his artwork across mediums. Jim Hedges of the Hedges Project believes that his photography was a key component of his style.

"Warhol used a camera every day of his life to record his activities and friends as well as for part of the creative process. While the Polaroid portraits are recognized as the most iconic of Warhol’s photo-based works, it is undeniable that the unique silver gelatin prints Warhol took between 1976 and 1987 feature a personal view of the artist’s life and sensibilities that is not found elsewhere.”
Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Ladies and Gentlemen (Kim),1974. Unique polaroid print © 2020 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Hedges Projects.; Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Sex Parts and Torsos, 1977. Unique polaroid print © 2020 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Hedges Projects.

Sex Parts and Torsos feature cropped shots of Warhol's models in nude. It has also become an intersection of art and pornography due to Warhol's raw explicit style on showing the body parts. Meanwhile, Ladies and Gentlemen celebrate and feature icons and spearheads of the LGBTQIA+ movement, most especially of Black and Latinx models and drag queens. Drag queen and transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson, one of the prominent figures of the Stonewall uprising in 1969, is one of the gems found in his exhibition as they dedicate Warhol's image to her lifework.

The exhibition is open for anyone around the world, keen to learn Warhol's views and scenery, and the people that made up his world.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Sex Parts and Torsos, 1977. Unique polaroid print © 2020 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Jim Hedges Projects; Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Sex Parts and Torsos, 1977. Unique polaroid print © 2020 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Hedges Projects; Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Sex Parts and Torsos, 1977. Unique polaroid print © 2020 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Jim Hedges Projects.

Visit the exhibition now at Fotografiska New York.

written by cielsan on 2020-09-03 #culture #news #instant-photography #pop-art #andy-warhol

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