Phoenix Explodes with "Pop" - Couture in the Suburbs

March’s First Friday at the Phoenix Art Museum was a culmination of various cultures, age groups, sexual orientations and personas. Whether you are an art aficionado or not, there is something about Warhol that intrigues everyone. The “Andy Warhol: Portraits” exhibition was open to the public starting on March 4, the collection coming from the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburg.

Warhol’s work is best represented through this collection featuring some of the most influential people in his life. Those who supported, guided and inspired him to break prohibitive barriers and explore the unknown.

Photos of famous fashion designers, models, muses and political figures were screen-printed with a light sensitive emulsion process, in turn creating iconic pieces of art. The silk-screening mechanism is prone to irregularities in which Warhol embraced each imperfection and askew line in his portraits. His undying passion for celebrity culture and fame was apparent and has continued to resonate especially with the current generation.

The exhibition features various portraits, sketches, photos of Warhol throughout the years and an interactive component, “Silver Clouds,” as you can see Lindsay channeling Warhol below.

I got the opportunity to interview Christian Adame, Associate Curator of Education at The Phoenix Art Museum and one of the creative minds behind PAM’s interpretation of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable.

SS: What is the significance of displaying the Warhol portraits right now?

CA: The Phoenix Art Museum has exhibitions planned out years in advance, so we knew this was coming. I think people are generally interested in Warhol because he always seems to find his moment in new generations. He’s now more popular than he has ever been before, he has pieces and collections all over the world and we are thrilled to be a part of it. I think Warhol is tapping into this generations’ obsession with celebrities, culture, social media and the narcissism that goes along with that. Warhol keeps latching onto new movements and I believe he is someone who would have whole-heartedly embraced social media considering it’s an instant platform to fame.

SS: You mentioned Warhol is continually finds “his moment” in every generation. What makes him a sustaining artist?

CA: I think people are attracted to the color and the boldness of his work. It also goes beyond just the aesthetic appeal; his former eccentricities and personality make him a unique public figure. We love to be obsessed with that kind of person.

SS: What made you decide to recreate the Exploding Plastic Inevitable from the 60’s?

CA: Warhol used to throw art parties at his factory studio in the 60’s. So we were looking at programming for the exhibition and we explored the idea of doing a lecture or a film series but that didn’t seem to be the right fit. I was looking through old flyers and came across a party that he threw at the Chrysler Museum of Art in 1966, it was one of his first parties and he used to title them, “Exploding Plastic Inevitable.” He was really interested in throwing words together that didn’t make sense in order to create ambiguity and sensory overload. Warhol’s parties became a platform for him to push his brand and this band called The Velvet Underground. So we decided to trash the lecture idea and stay true to his character by throwing our own “EPI” and bringing it to the 21^st century.

SS: What original components did you incorporate from EPI and how did you make it your own?

CA: We have the elements that he did like lightworks ultrasound and live music projections but we put our own spin on it by incorporating local visionary artists, musicians, independent vintage stores and boutiques. Our goal was to bring phoenix into the reinterpretation of Warhol’s ideas through the use of interpretative dance, screen-tests and the Wooden Indian covering The Velvet Underground. It’s a homage to Warhol but with a contemporary spin.

SS: Tell me how this EPI coincides with Phoenix’s monthly First Friday experience?

CA:Well First Friday is a free community event, its such a diverse crowd that comes out and we wanted to host this party on a free night when admission wasn’t an issue. This exhibition and experience as a whole will appeal to all generations, its relatable.

SS: Why is the exhibition purely just portraits and not some of Warhol’s other iconic work?

CA: This collection came from the The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburg. The portrait is the emblem of Warhol, its cropped in close, bold bright colors, its one-of-a-kind and it reminds me of the Instagram of his time. Portraits are a good introduction to Warhol’s work and it opens up the door to his other artistic demonstrations.

PAM decided to kick off the exhibition in true Warhol style recreating the “Exploding Plastic Inevitable” series from the 60’s. Warhol was known for his multimedia soirees hosted in “The Factory” or various locations in New York City. PAM invited local vendors, boutiques, visionary and interpretative artists to partake in a modern day EPI.

Before entering the museum, you could listen to DJentrification spinning trippy sounds while Palabra styled the hair of Warhol posse-esque volunteers. Local Salon Estique was also styling hair while Tumbletees was selling pop-art silk-screened t-shirts.

Once inside, it was a necessity to pick up a free “WARHOL” button custom made by vendor, Jar of Buttons as a souvenir. With no order or predictability in place, interpretative artists were performing in random areas of the museum. A group of women with brightly painted faces by artist, Yai Cecream were dancing in sync without music which spurred interest slowly but surely. Outside of the exhibit itself, Wooden Indian impersonated the Velvet Underground casting a psychedelic trance over the audience. We were lucky enough to witness “Warhol” in his natural element casually hanging out on one of the strategically misplaced mattresses.

Meanwhile, Twiggy inspired models paraded through the crowd wearing vintage clothing from Vintage by Misty bringing the fashion aspect to the forefront of the show.

I don’t know what it is that makes me love Andy so much. It could be his quirky personality, possibility his obsession with glamour and fashion or maybe just the fact that he liked to wear all black. I came across this direct quote some time ago, and I have come to find meaning in it after experiencing “Andy Warhol: Portraits” myself.

“If you want to know all about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings and films and me, and there I am. There is nothing behind it.”