ir nws th t o g l p o p nd th Intrnt, V T l zins. Andy b g c m r d fo n B rs p from nwsp ip s s o g m to rt. ir th th d d t n v l n d thm, th Wrhol dvour BY AARON JENT ZEN 12 CARNEGIE SUMMER 2012
In th summr of 1946, 18-yr-old Andy Wrhol took job on th strts of his ntiv Pittsburgh hlping his brothr, Pul, sll fruits nd vgtbls from crt. Wht h md of th xprinc lndd th Crngi Tch studnt n rt wrd nd his first hdlin: Artist-Huckstr Sktchs Customrs nd Wins Priz. As th huckstr s wgon wnt its lzy wy through Oklnd nd Homstd, Andy did somthing bsids dish out vgtbls nd try to kp childrn from undr th whls, rds Th Pittsburgh Prss story. H st down sris of pn-nd-ink sktchs tht show th vgris of vrything from th idl rich to th scrmbling poor. Th clip includs photogrph of th budding rtist nd rproduction of on of his drwings. It lso mrks Wrhol s first brush with th mdi nd th rcognition tht oftn coms long with its hdlins. Th story s significnc wsn t so much tht h won priz, it s tht h got his pictur in th ppr, sys Mtt Wrbicn, chif rchivist t Th Andy Wrhol Musum. Who knows? Myb tht s whn h bgn to think tht h wntd to b fmous. Currnt vnts nd clbrity gossip would prov to b crr- long obsssions nd rich sourcs of inspirtion for th futur Pop rtist, s Wrhol trnsformd th grubby world of dily nws into rt. A nw nd much-tlkd bout xhibition, Wrhol: Hdlins, prsnts nrly 80 of ths hdlin-thmd works, lmost hlf of which r on viw for th first tim. Opning t Th Wrhol on Octobr 14, th show dbutd with grt fnfr lst Sptmbr t th Ntionl Gllry of Art in Wshington, D.C., nd hs sinc pprd in Frnkfurt s Musum für Modrn Kunst nd Rom s Gllri nzionl d rt modrn. Orgnizd by th Ntionl Gllry in ssocition with Th Wrhol, th xhibition spns Wrhol s prolific crr, from th 1950s until his dth in 1987. Along with th xpctd cnvss nd signtur silkscrns, it fturs clips from his movis, udio from n LP, nd glimps of th hdlin mkr himslf, co-hosting th 1983 cbl show Andy Wrhol s TV. Th rl scoop is tht mny of th works ppr longsid th nws storis tht inspird thm in svrl css, for th first tim. You ll hv th sourc mtril clos nough to th pinting tht you cn mk comprison, xplins Wrbicn, rvling nw window into Wrhol s rol s both ditor nd uthor. (continud) Andy Wrhol s first tst of fm. CARNEGIE FALL 2012 13
NEWS AS ART Obsssivly scouring th suprmrkt tbloids nd minstrm dilis lik, Wrhol ws complt nws junki, sys xhibition curtor Molly Donovn, n ssocit curtor t th Ntionl Gllry. By trcing th rtist s us of hdlins, sh dds, w gt frsh prspctiv on his crtiv procss. It sms lik lot of Wrhol s thms hv bn xhustd, nd this on hsn t, sys Donovn. I rlly followd his brdcrumbs in dfining th body of work. Th rlist xmpls dt from th mid-1950s, whn th rtist md his living s wll-known commrcil illustrtor in Nw York City. As his hnd-drwn dvrtismnts for th shomkrs I. Millr & Sons bgn ppring rgulrly in Th Nw York Tims nd othr big nms in th nws businss, Wrhol quickly discovrd tht journlism nd dvrtising hd lot in common: Thy both hd somthing to sll, nd to surviv, thy both hd to kp th public s ttntion. In drwings such s Princton Ldr (1956) nd Ntionl Ennguirr (1958), h sktchd loos rprsnttions of nwsprint using bllpoint pn on ppr, oftn with plyful ltrtions of th sourc mtril, including obvious misspllings. In drwing of hdlin bout cruis ship hijckd in th Cribbn, 900 pssngrs bcm 900,000. By th 1960s, Wrhol bgn pplying nw mthod to his work, nd on grnd scl using n opqu projctor. Th inspirtion for Wrhol: Hdlins pivotl work bsd on hdlins rippd from th covr of th Novmbr 3, 1961 dition of th Nw York Post dmonstrts this volving tchniqu. In gigntic typ, th Post s covr story dclrd A Boy for Mg, mrking th birth of first child to Princss Mrgrt of Britin, thn houshold nm who s shown smiling. Wrhol s initil rtwork, 1961 pinting sktchd in csin nd cryon, includs rough imprssions of th Wrhol ws complt nws junki. ppr s pg lyout infltd on mssiv cnvs som 6 ft tll. For th scond itrtion, compltd th following yr, h usd oil nd gg mulsion, rndring with nr-prcision ll but th finst print nd nuncd portrits of Mg nd Frnk Sintr, whos much smllr mug rn cross th top of th covr. Th scond Mg pinting is on of four hnd-pintd hdlin cnvss tht rlly lunchd Wrhol s mjor ffort in trting th hdlin nws, nots Donovn, providing n voctiv glimps into his dfining obsssions with portritur, clbrity, mss cultur, nd disstrs. By nlrging th front pg of th tbloid sourc on which it s bsd, this pinting signifis th immdicy Wrhol convyd in his rt nd tlls us tht somthing s mundn s th dily nwsppr cn indd b grnd. Anothr pinting from tht priod shouts 129 Di in Jt! On of Wrhol s rlist works cntrd on dth nd disstr, th pinting builds upon th Nw York Mirror s covrg (continud) - MOLLY DONOVAN, CURATOR OF WARHOL: HEADLINES Stv Schpiro/Corbis 14 CARNEGIE FALL 2012
Th pir of gint Mg pintings, Wrhol s first mjor trtmnt of hdlin nws, inspird th xhibition. Abov: Andy Wrhol, A Boy for Mg [1] nd A Boy for Mg [2], s instlld in Wrhol: Hdlins t th Ntionl Gllry of Art, Wshington, Sptmbr 25, 2011 Jnury 2, 2012. Photo Ntionl Gllry of Art, Wshington Fr lft: Andy Wrhol, Writr Donld Brthlm posing for Hrpr's Bzr, Nw Fcs, Nw Forcs, Nw Nms in th Arts, Jun 1963, from Tim Cpsul 21, 1963, Th Andy Wrhol Musum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collction, Contribution Th Andy Wrhol Foundtion for th Visul Arts, Inc., 2011 Th Andy Wrhol Foundtion for th Visul Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Socity (ARS), Nw York Lft: Andy Wrhol, Tunfish Disstr, 1963, Andrw nd Dnis Sul, 2011 Th Andy Wrhol Foundtion for th Visul Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Socity (ARS), Nw York CARNEGIE FALL 2012 15
As child, Andy Wrhol crtd scrpbooks filld with movi strs. Ltr, s his own str ros, h md scrpbooks ctloging his fm. 16 CARNEGIE FALL 2012 of pln crsh t Orly Airport in Pris, nlrging th lrdy imposing hdlin nd photogrph of th tttrd wrckg on mssiv 100-by 72-inch cnvs. Not long ftr, Wrhol xprimntd with nothr mthod: silkscrning. It llowd th mstr mnipultor to rpt imgs ovr nd ovr, mor fully mbodying th mchnicl rproduction of th printing prss, dding prhps n dditionl critiqu of his sourc mtril. Somtims, h vn multiplid th sm nws itm ovr nd ovr on th sm support, Donovn sys, s in Tunfish Disstr. Th 1963 work, drivd from botulism scr rportd in Nwswk, uss th sm pg of nwsprint rptd in grid pttrn, crting hightnd sns of trror. From silkscrns, Wrhol: Hdlins follows th rtist into photogrphy nd nw mdi, trcing his nos for nws through film nd vido. Svrl of Wrhol s fmous Scrn Tsts fourminut, silnt film portrits show subjcts doing nothing mor thn rding th nwsppr. Lt in his crr, th us of th dy s hottst nws rmind thrd in Wrhol s nr-constnt production. In 1985, h collbortd with frind Kith Hring on sris of pintings bsd on th mdi hystri ovr nud photos of pop str Mdonn. Ths rtworks form only on lyr of th xhibit, sys Donovn; th othr, not surprisingly, is biogrphicl. SCRAPBOOKING FOR SUPERSTARS At Th Wrhol, towring gry shlvs on mchnicl trcks hous th rtist s mssiv rchivs, stimtd t hlf million itms. Tking blck bindr from on of th shlvs, Wrbicn crfully pgs through scrpbook of prss clippings, on of 34 collctd ovr dcds by Wrhol nd his stff t Th Fctory, his Nw York studio. Wrbicn points out fw fvorits, including 1966 hdlin tht rds, Andy Wrhol Intrviws By Tims Rportr, from high school s studnt nwsppr. H prfrrd bing intrviwd by rlly young popl, sys Wrbicn. H likd thir frshnss nd uninhibitd qulitis thy wrn t s stiltd s profssionl journlist. In ddition to following currnt vnts, Wrhol obsssivly collctd ll nws bout himslf, nots Wrbicn. Hrdly vnity collction, th scrpbooks includ ngtiv prss, rltivly minor mntions in gossip nd socity columns, long with ds for his 1960s Exploding Plstic Invitbl multimdi shows, vnts Wrhol orgnizd fturing musicl nd dnc prformncs, nd scrnings of his films. Rthr thn hiring clipping srvic, Wrhol rlid on frinds nd ssocits to collct his mdi covrg. H offrd smll bounty, sys Wrbicn: If thy brought clipping in, Wrhol would py thm 50 cnts or dollr which t tht tim ws myb littl mor thn cup of coff. Th scrpbooks thmslvs r xtrmly frgil, nd rmin in th musum s rchivs rthr thn trvling with th xhibition lthough th Pittsburgh lg will offr n xclusiv glnc t smll slic of thir rrlysn contnts.
Andy Wrhol nd Kith Hring, Untitld (Mdonn, I'm Not Ashmd), Collction Kith Hring Foundtion, Nw York, 2011 Th Andy Wrhol Foundtion for th Visul Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Socity (ARS), Nw York, Kith Hring rtwork Kith Hring Foundtion In ddition to th scrpbooks, th rchivs includ countlss xmpls of Wrhol s instibl pptit for nws nd gossip, including stcks of nwspprs h would bring bck from his trvls. Th Pittsburgh show will lso includ th contnts of on of Wrhol s fmd Tim Cpsuls from th lt 1970s, which is chock full of Nw York tbloids. Evn in photogrphs, Wrbicn sys, Wrhol usully hs nwsppr in his hnd, or on is nrby. H nots on rcntly discovrd sris of blck-nd-whit imgs from th 1980s tht show Wrhol gtting pdicur. H s sitting in this littl slon, with his sho nd sock off, nd sur nough thr s copy of th Nw York Post lying nxt to him. A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH Wrhol s obsssion with th mdi nd fm lso hd trgic sid. Most notbly, h md th front pgs of th tbloids in 1968 whn h ws shot nd nrly killd by ctrss Vlri Solns. Towrd th nd of his lif, too, h ws th subjct of ngtiv prss; Wrbicn dscribs on such pic by Andy Wrhol, 129 Di in Jt, 1962, Musum Ludwig, Cologn, 2011 Th Andy Wrhol Foundtion for th Visul Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Socity (ARS), Nw York, Rhinischs Bildrchiv Köln [Wrhol] ws n rtist who chronicld his tim, mor thn ny othr. Robrt Hughs in Th Nw York Rviw of Books s htcht job. Wrhol s lif nd work r inxtricbly linkd, dds Donovn. Thy r rlly on nd th sm; you cnnot sprt thm. H wntd to b fmous, h wntd to b in th hdlins, nd of cours h did, trgiclly, nd up in th hdlins. Whil nwspprs r rdily ccssibl, nws hdlins li byond th rch of most popl. Unlik Wrhol s rly sktchs of dily lif in Pittsburgh, thy chronicl xtrordinry vnts, unusul xprincs, nd lrgr-thn-lif individuls. And for nws hounds lik Wrhol, s wll s csul consumrs, thy xrt prdoxicl ttrction. - MOLLY DONOVAN, CURATOR OF WARHOL: HEADLINES On on hnd, sys Donovn, thr s our dsir to b in th hdlins if it s good nws. On th othr, if you r rding bout th trgdy, you didn t suffr th trgdy, sh sys, which cn b ffirming in bsic humn wy. And it s thr, prhps somwhr btwn th promis of fm in Artist- Huckstr nd th trgdy dpictd in 129 Di in Jt! nd Actrss Shoots Andy Wrhol tht w find th ongoing ppl of ths hdlin works, of old nws in nw configurtions, prsntd on grnd scl. Tking th phmrl nws of th dy, Wrhol mks it monumntl by nlrging it nd turning it into rt, sys Donovn. H ws n rtist who chronicld his tim, mor thn ny othr. n CARNEGIE FALL 2012 17