Morris & Warhol - Modern Art Oxford

Andy Warhol and William Morris

Love Is Enough: William Morris & Andy Warhol, curated by Jeremy Deller is at Modern Art Oxford until 8 March 2015.
I love Andy Warhol (see below); I love William Morris; I am also a bit of a fan of Jeremy Deller (see below). So I was pretty excited by the prospect of this exhibition. (With another of my heroes, William Blake, the subject of an exhibition at the Ashmolean (see below) a visit to Oxford was irresistable.)
Broadly, the premise for this suprising pairing of artists is that they both employed printmaking processes in collaborative factory production systems as a means to extend and  distribute their art; they both employed repetition as a design principle; they both used flower imagery and made pictures of cultural heroes and myths; the show even tries to argue that Warhol's politics had some affinity with Morris' socialism.
However, I don't think it works: there are a few terrific pieces in the exhibition, but the juxtapositions are, too often, painful clashes rather than complementary contrasts. Two of Warhol's Electric Chair screenprints on a background of Morris' densely patterned wall paper does neither artist a favour. Generally, I think that Warhol is the loser in this contest: Morris' dense, highly crafted designs make Warhol's casual elegance look lightweight and thin. But it's an unfair contest - the earnest sincerity and idealism of Morris' nostalgic vision sits awkwardly with Warhol's ironic detachment. The fact that they both made wallpaper isn't enought to make them brothers in art. (In fact Morris and William Blake would make a much more sympathetic pairing;  the Blake show, incidentally, is excellent.)

Read reviews by Waldemar Januszczak, Richard Dorment (he hated it!) and Farah Nayeri. Click on images to enlarge.

William Morris, printed fabric design: Kennet, 1883

William Morris, wall paper design: Acanthus, 1879

William Morris, wall paper: Acanthus, 1879

William Morris, 'Kelmscott Chaucer', 1896

William Morris, bound pamphlet: How I Became a Socialist, 1896

Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Taylor, 1967

Andy Warhol, Electric Chair, 1971

Andy Warhol, Flowers, 1970

Andy Warhol, Cow wallpaper, 1971

Love is Enough... installation featuring Andy Warhol, Marilyn Tapestry, 1968 and photograph of Shirley Temple (1941) from Warhol's collection, on wallpaper by William Morris

Love is Enough... installation

Andy Warhol - Tate Liverpool

Andy Warhol, Untitled (Marilyn), 1967

Transmitting Andy Warhol is at Tate Liverpool until 8 February 2015.
Oh, to be in Liverpool, now that Warhol is there! In the meantime, here is my Warhol Transmission.
This exhibition includes some great pieces - Marilyn Diptych (1962), Brillo Soap Pad Boxes (1964/8), Campbell's Soup (1968), Flowers (1964/5), 'Untitled (Electric Chairs)' (1971) and many more. But the exhibition also focuses on Warhol's use of, and interventions into, mass media - from illustrations for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, the publication of his magazine Interview and poster design to his use of silk screen printed versions of his paintings to make his art genuinely affordable and available to a wide public; the exhibition also includes an evocation of Warhol's involvement with The Velvet Underground and the multi-media events of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (EPI). (Scroll down to play a film of the EPI as well as screen tests for Edie Sdgewick, Lou Reed, Nico and Bob Dylan.)
Read reviews of the exhibition by Laura Cumming, and Karen Wright.
PS - see also blog entry below on the publication of a book of Billy Name's photographs of Warhol's Factory.

Andy Warhol, Untitled (Marilyn), 1967

Andy Warhol, Marilyn Diptych, 1962

Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup, 1968

Andy Warhol, Three Brillo Soap Pad Boxes, 1964/8 (installation at Tate Liverpool)

Andy Warhol, Dance Diagram, 1962

Andy Warhol, Untitled (from Electric Chairs), 1971

Billy Name: The Silver Age: Black and White Photographs from Andy Warhol’s Factory

Billy Name, Andy Warhol with Self-Portrait, 1967

A new book of Billy Name's photographs of Andy Warhol's Factory has just been published, making the perfect complement to Tate Liverpool's exhibition Transmitting Andy Warhol (see blog entry, above). As Glenn O'Brien's article explains, Billy Name was invited by Warhol to decorate his new loft space - The Factory - which he did by spraying everything silver. It was a big job, so Name asked if he could move in. He did, and stayed for many years becoming Warhol's lover/companion, secretary, studio manager and more - but, above all, he became the Factory archivist documenting the style, the people and life inside Warhol's studio.
Billy Name: The Silver Age: Black and White Photographs from Andy Warhol’s Factory is published by Reel Art Press; read the article by Glenn O'Brien.

Billy Name, Factory Group Shot, 1968

Billy Name, Nico, 1967

Billy Name, Lou Reed at the luncheonette on the corner of 47th Street and 3rd Avenue,1967

Billy Name, Bob Dylan, 1965

Billy Name, Andy Warhol on the Couch at the Factory, 1967

Billy Name, Andy Warhol with Brillo Box sculpture and Ruby the cat, 1964

Art & Photography Playlist #7 David Bowie: Andy Warhol

Songs about Art and Photography: a playlist. #7 David Bowie: Andy Warhol  (click to play).

Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, 1964

(This is Andy Warhol and it's take one, take one)

It's, it's Warhol actually
(What did I say?)
Hole, it's hole as in holes
(Andy Warhol)
What?, Andy War hol, Andy War hol
Like hole
He
Ha
Are you ready?
(Yeah)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha

Like to take a cement fix
Be a standing cinema
Dress my friends up just for show
See them as they really are
Put a peephole in my brain
Two New Pence to have a go
I'd like to be a gallery
Put you all inside my show

Andy Warhol looks a scream
Hang him on my wall
Andy Warhol, Silver Screen
Can't tell them apart at all

Andy walking, Andy tired
Andy take a little snooze
Tie him up when he's fast asleep
Send him on a pleasant cruise (hm hm hm)
When he wakes up on the sea
He sure to think of me and you
He'll think about paint and he'll think about glue
What a jolly boring thing to do

Andy Warhol looks a scream
Hang him on my wall
Andy Warhol, Silver Screen
Can't tell them apart at all

Andy Warhol looks a scream
Hang him on my wall
Andy Warhol, Silver Screen
Can't tell them apart at all

 "Andy Warhol" by David Bowie, from David Bowie: Hunky Dory, 1971.

Click on 'Art and Photography Playlist', below to see all playlist entries.

David Bowie as Andy Warhol in Basquiat, dir.Julian Schnabel (1996)

Andy Warhol: The Portfolios - Dulwich Picture Gallery

Andy Warhol, Marilyn, 1967

My favourite artist at my favourite gallery by my favourite architect...! Andy Warhol: The Portfolios is at Dulwich Picture Gallery until 16 September.

The exhibition presents a selection of Warhols screenprints made between 1962 and 1985. Read a review by Richard Dorment.

Andy Warhol, Birmingham Race Riot, 1964

Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup II, 1969 (Oyster Stew)

Andy Warhol, Flowers, 1970

Andy Warhol, Muhammad Ali, 1978

Andy Warhol, Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century, 1980 (Franz Kafka)

Sir John Soane, Dulwich Picture Gallery, 1817 (photograph by richardr)

Sir John Soane, Dulwich Picture Gallery, 1817 (photograph by Eric Hardy)

Liz Taylor (1932 - 2011)

Elizabeth (Liz) Taylor died on 23rd March 2011. I am not sure that I have ever actually seen a Liz Taylor film! However, I do know her as the star of many Andy Warhol pictures. So, here, in memoriam, is a selection of those pictures.

From top: Silver Liz, 1963; Ten Lizes, 1963; Silver Liz with Blank, 1963; Liz, 1963.

See Elizabeth Taylor obituary and appreciation by David Thomson.

Andy Warhol, 1928-1987

Andy Warhol in New York, 1964 with "Brillo Boxes"
How do you tell a real Warhol from a fake? See this interesting article about art and money and a scam allegedly involving fake Warhols:
Levy, Adrian & Scott-Clark, Kathy (2010) "Box of Tricks", Guardian Weekend, 21st August, pp24-30