Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona
27.02.2015 - 10.05.201
“An avid photographer, collector and photographic subject, Warhol incorporated photography into almost every aspect of his aesthetic and social experience.” - Catherine Zuromskis from Snapshot Photography: The Lives of Images, 2013
Andy Warhol was a leading figure in the Pop Art movement and experimented with many different mediums over the course of his life and career. Of his varied artistic interests, the medium of photography held with him from a young age, beginning when he received his first Brownie camera at the age of nine and later learned how to make black-and-white prints in a darkroom set up in his family’s basement. The technical detail required of early photographic printing, however, was not of interest to Warhol and when he started using photography in his art in the 1960’s, he was drawn to automated, instant processes such as the photo booth and the Polaroid, which he used for commissioned work and to document himself and those in his inner circle at the Factory. In 1971, a new camera called the Polaroid Big Shot was introduced and this became Andy’s camera of choice for taking the portraits that would be used as source material for his commissioned photo-silkscreen portraits.
Liza Minnelli, 1977
Image by Andy Warhol
Polarcolor Type 108
Image size: 4 1/4” x 3 3/8”
© The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Liza Minnelli, 1977 Image by Andy Warhol Polarcolor Type 108
Halston, 1974 by Andy Warhol
Mme. Charles De Pauw, September,1981 by Andy Warhol
© The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
At the same time, automation and advances made to the compact film cameras and the automatic flash in the 1970’s allowed Warhol greater opportunities to take his camera with him, and the freedom to photograph anything and everything of interest. Through the 1970’s and 1980’s, Warhol set out to take photographs that, as a singular body of work might appear disjointed or random, but were nonetheless in line with Warhol’s obsession with the mechanical properties of the medium, with his focus on the subject more so than the composition or lighting in any given scene. Author Catherine Zuromskis elaborates in her book, The Factory, that while his images may appear “poorly exposed, awkwardly framed, and often compositionally uninteresting…the value of these images lies in the way they allow us to see in a Warholian way and thus be drawn, even if only virtually, into his Factory perspective on the world.”
Andy Warhol’s black-and-white images were featured in numerous publications in the 1980’s and in January of 1987, they were the basis for the exhibition titled Andy Warhol Photographs, presented at the Robert Miller Gallery in New York – one of the only exhibitions of his black-and-white photographs during his lifetime.
Pat Hackett, 1982
Image by Andy Warhol
Silver Gelatin Print
Image size: 8” x 10”
© The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
“Automatic focus and automatic flash meant that Warhol could pull a point-and-shoot camera from his pocket and take a picture with a moment’s notice. His pictures are characteristically unposed, spontaneous, and raw but, when successful, have strong black-and-white compositions. Unlike the paparazzi with whom he compared himself, Warhol was also a guest and as such could photograph social events from within, at close range.” - Stephen Peterson, from Andy Warhol: Behind the Camera, 2011
Between 1971 and 1987, Warhol produced tens of thousands of Polaroids and over 3,000 rolls of black-and-white film from which over 20,000 frames were printed, a majority of which had never been seen by the public. Upon his sudden death in 1987, his will stated that most of his estate was to be used to create a foundation dedicated to the advancement of the visual arts. This foundation, now referred to as the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, received Andy’s extensive collection of photographs in addition to the exhaustive and varied catalog of artwork and personal possessions now in their care.
In 2007, the Andy Warhol Foundation initiated the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program, in which over 28,500 photographs were donated to university museums, galleries and art collections across the United States in honor of the Warhol Foundation’s 20th anniversary. In 2008, the Southeast Museum of Photography received a donation of 107 of Warhol’s original Polaroids and 53 8 X 10 black-and-white prints and was one of 183 institutions to participate in this program. In the spring of 2014, an additional donation of nine photo screenprints were also acquired through this program. Through highlights from both donations, this exhibition showcases Warhol’s Polaroids, black-and-white prints and photo silk screens to provide a glimpse into the inner workings of this iconic figure in 20th century American art and his relationship with the medium of photography.
Unidentified Men, Undated
Image by Andy Warhol
Silver Gelatin Print
Image size: 10” x 8”
© The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
“When I do a portrait, the first thing is the make-up person puts on a sort of light make-up, so it gets rid of people’s suntans and things like that. It’s just to cut through the suntan. Then I start taking Polaroids. The Polaroid gets rid of everybody’s wrinkles, sort of simplifies the face. I take at least five rolls. I shouldn’t do that. I should only take one. A good photographer takes only two or three shots. That’s how you can tell he’s good. But I take lots because it’s part of the whole thing. People expect it. They like it, even though it’s painful – the bright lights, the flashcubes. I try to make everybody look great.” - Andy Warhol, 1982 interview by Carter Ratcliff
© Southeast Museum of Photography | Warhol Foundation | Photo Exhibit United States