Author Archives: Kristen Dollard
VIRAL: ANDY WARHOL AND THE IMAGE BEFORE THE INTERNET AGE June 24-27
OPENING RECEPTION
Monday, June 24
5:00 pm Cocktails
6:30 pm “Collecting 101” – a panel discussion featuring
Sabrina Buell, Art Advisor
Sebastian Cwilich, President and COO of Artsy
Ron Johnson, Vice President, Specialty Finance Group, Wells Fargo
Marc Porter, Chairman, Christie’s
Jessica Silverman, Owner and Director of Jessica Silverman Gallery
COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM
Hahn Auditorium
1401 North Shoreline Blvd
Mountain View, CA 94043
PUBLIC VIEWINGS
EVENT DATE: 24-27 JUNE 2013
PUBLIC VIEWINGS
Monday, June 24 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday, June 25 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesday, June 26 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Thursday, June 27 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
RSVP
christiessf@christies.com
+1 415 982 0982
Portrait of an Artist:
Tour Jennifer Rubell’s Studio and See Her Revealing New Work
Jennifer Rubell’s studio sits on a quiet corner where Brooklyn neighborhoods Greenpoint and Williamsburg meet. Its industrial grates and white metal siding appear no different than the commercial warehouse exteriors. Inside, though, is an unexpected house of wares—even by Brooklyn standards. Rubell, who in 2010 created “The Icons,” a twenty-foot-tall piñata in the shape of Andy Warhol’s head for The Brooklyn Ball, is overseeing several new projects that challenge the conventions of making art.
Rubell is the daughter of contemporary art collectors Don and Mera Rubell. She is also the niece of the late Steve Rubell—the storied co-owner of Studio 54. These relationships, as Rubell insists, have had a marked impact on her work. So too has Andy Warhol. In this intimate look at a new project and several pieces currently underway, the ghosts of the late, great Pop maestro are ever-present. “Above all,” says Rubell, “I want the studio to not be a zone of boundaries for myself.”
5 Rules for Getting Into Studio 54: All Hail Halston and More
From Halston to helicopters, here are Andy’s guidelines for entrance, straight from his book, Andy Warhol’s Exposures. Warhol, who famously said Studio 54 was more high school than pagan Rome, knew the rules of the scene. “Every time I go to Studio 54 I’m afraid I won’t get in—maybe there will be somebody new at the door who won’t recognize me.” Even Warhol, in spite of his superstar status, had doubts about getting in the door. Perhaps that is why he created these five rules for entry.
Rule #1: Always go with Halston or in Halston.
Rule #2: Get there very early or very late.
Rule #3: Arrive in a limo or a helicopter. One night Victor Hugo arrived in an ambulance and got right in. He jumped up off his stretcher and started dancing.
Rule #4: Don’t wear anything polyester, not even your underwear.
Rule #5: Don’t mention my name.
LOT 117
ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Halston dated ‘Nov 1980’ (on the reverse) unique gelatin silver print
10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm.)
Executed in 1980.
Show Us Your Studio
Some say Warhol invented celebrity. The indisputable truth: Andy’s star-studded shots of hot nights at Steve Rubell and Ian Schraeger’s cool West Side hang Studio 54 make it feel like the party’s still going. In its heyday, when topless bartenders, disco, and not a little illicit accelerant pushed the party to an alpine high, Calvin Klein regularly vamped with Grace Jones and Madonna partied with Bill Murray.
Beyond the notorious velvet rope, the inveterate observer Warhol immortalized sweet friendships and fresh faces of “it” kids like Richard Gere circa PYT. From Keith Haring to Diane von Furstenberg, and from Mick to Bianca, parades of stars (Dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov! Baby Brooke Shields!) popped in and out of frame, before heading back, just before dawn, to their own private lives.
To celebrate the 36th anniversary of Studio and the last day of the online-only May sale, we asked four contemporary city creatives to show us their Studio. Meet our innovation braintrust: the principals of Black Frame, The Fat Radish, Grey Area, and Refinery29 pictured in their respective hot spots by Ben Fink Shapiro.
THE WARHOLIAN QUESTIONNAIRE: LENA DUNHAM
As the creator and star of the award-winning HBO series Girls, Lena Dunham masterfully channels the angst of post-collegiate singletons struggling to realize life’s creative, professional, and romantic dreams in gritty New York City. No stranger to the art world (she is the daughter of artists Carroll Dunham and Laurie Simmons), we love her riff on his hypothetical tweet and her dream collaboration with the Pop Art master.
What was your first Warholian moment, and when did you first encounter him?
I don’t remember not knowing about Andy Warhol. One of my claims to fame is that my parents have been in the same room as him. As a child I thought he invented soup.
What or who would be Andy’s muse if he were alive today?
He would watch Real Housewives. We all just have to accept that.
What are your latest cultural obsessions?
The cult of J. Crew. Twitter-feuds. Scandal and other hour-long television dramas.
What would you consider Warhol’s most memorable quote or anthem?
“I always run into strong women who are looking for weak men to dominate them.”
If you could collaborate with Andy on a project, what would it be?
We’d design the coolest, wittiest, most casually brilliant laptop cases that let everyone at work or on the train know just how much you “get” it.
Dream dinner party: you, Warhol, and…?
Marilyn Monroe. I’m afraid anybody else would bore him (including, and especially, me.)
Imagine Warhol had a Twitter account. What kind of thing might he say in 140 characters or less?
Breakfast is the easiest meal to curate properly and the hardest one to give a shit about.
Whose portrait would Andy most want to do now?
Lindsay Lohan.
Soup can or coke bottle?
Soup can all the way.
Drag every day or only on special occasions?
Isn’t it all drag?
Follow Lena
@lenadunham
THE WARHOLIAN QUESTIONNAIRE: MAXWELL RYAN
As the CEO and founder of the highly addictive interior design megasite Apartment Therapy, Maxwell Ryan presides over one of the premier online destinations for inspired design tutorials, product recommendations and voyeuristic home tours. Ryan is also the author of several hit design books, including the 2010 New York Times best-seller, Apartment Therapy’s Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces. Here, Ryan weighs in on what might capture Andy’s attention today. Hint: Bieber-fever tops the list.
What was your first Warholian moment, and when did you first encounter him?
I was a 70s New York kid, so Warhol was all around me back then, but the biggest thing I remember were his soup cans prints and how everyone thought they were so outrageous at the time. A total insult to the serious art world!
Who would be Andy’s muse if he were alive today?
Warhol loved beautiful icons and he loved messing with them, so he’d probably be dying to get his hands on Justin Bieber.
What are your latest cultural obsessions?
Web video. We started making short films about our readers and artists and interesting people for our site last year and now we’re putting out two a week. Jeff Katzman just did a “My Favorite Things” shoot with us. (You won’t want to miss his use of air plants.)
What would you consider to be Warhol’s motto?
Like.
If you could collaborate with Andy on a project, what would it be?
I love his use of color and strong graphic imagery. I’d love to make a big print of the Apartment Therapy squiggle with him in many colors.
Dream dinner party: you, Warhol, and…..?
Lindsay Lohan, Kate Middleton and Jonathan Adler.
Imagine Warhol had a Twitter account. What kind of thing might he say in 140 characters or less?
I had a lot of dates but I decided to stay home and dye my eyebrows.
Whose portrait would Andy most want to do if he were alive today?
Justin Bieber.
If you could own one work by Andy, what would it be?
Marilyn Monroe, 1967 with the pink background.
Soup can or Coke bottle?
Coke.
Studio 54 or Régine’s or Jane Hotel?
Studio 54.
Follow Maxwell
@maxwellat
www.apartmenttherapy.com/
THE WARHOLIAN QUESTIONNAIRE: NEIL BLUMENTHAL
Launched in 2010, the pioneering eyewear retailer Warby Parker has uncovered a winning strategy combining high-quality materials and superior design with an innovative business model. The concept: “vintage-inspired designs with a contemporary twist.” The Warhol-worthy commercial win: in two weeks, 15 styles sold out (the wait list was over 20,000 people long.) Co-Founder and Co-CEO Neil Blumenthal takes us back to his own Pop Art roots: SoHo in its heyday.
What was your first Warholian moment, when did you first encounter him?
Through my uncle, who was an advertising executive and an amateur artist. I remember he painted a Fox’s U-Bet Chocolate Syrup bottle in the vein of Warhol, and I was instantly fascinated. I must have been about eight years old. This was pre-internet, but luckily I grew up in Greenwich Village, so my parents just took me to some galleries in SoHo on a Saturday, and that was my introduction to Warhol’s work.
Who would be Andy’s muse if he were alive today?
No idea. He had a mysterious process for picking his subjects, and I don’t think I can put myself in those shoes. People say he took on the soup can iconography because he ate Campbell’s every day as a kid and loved it; other people say he ate Campbell’s every day and loathed it. In 2012, maybe it would’ve been the Twinkie, given Hostess’s bankruptcy troubles…
What are your latest cultural obsessions?
Revenge on ABC, which is quickly becoming as confusing as Twin Peaks. And on the slightly higher-brow side, I’m really excited about how RxArt is invigorating the intersection of art and philanthropy by using art to help children heal.
If Warhol were alive today, what social platform would be Andy’s favorite?
He’d create his own filter on Instagram. I could also see him disseminating 140-character chunks of The Philosophy of Andy Warhol on Twitter. One per day.
If you could collaborate with Andy on a project, what would it be?
This is a no-brainer for an eyewear designer: co-create a pair of Andy-worthy frames.
Dream dinner party: you, Warhol, and…..?
Michelle Obama.
Imagine Warhol had a Twitter account. What kind of thing might he say in 140 characters or less?
He knew the value of brevity. Many of his great, wry observations fit into the “140 character or less” category. One I love from The Philosophy of Andy Warhol is “If you can’t believe it’s happening, pretend it’s a movie.”
Whose portrait would Andy most want to do if he were alive today?
Julian Assange or Oprah, with the odds about 3-2 in Assange’s favor. Lance Armstrong would be a close third.
If you could own one work by Andy, what would it be?
One of his Muhammad Ali silkscreens.
Soup can or Coke bottle?
Soup can. Green pea. (I live in New York, so large bottles of soda are no longer legal.)
Studio 54 or Régine’s or Jane Hotel?
Studio 54. Always go with the pioneer. I’d like to insert myself into the photo where Warhol is standing next to Jerry Hall while she kills a bottle of champagne.
Follow Neil
@warbyparker
@neilblumenthal
www.warbyparker.com
THE WARHOLIAN QUESTIONNAIRE: NICKY HASLAM
Called “the life of the party” by Vanity Fair, London-based Nicky Haslam has always dazzled us not only with his professional accomplishments but his capacity for storytelling – oh, the STORIES! – revealing a life infused with passion, intellect, humour, and above all, a sense of adventure. While forging his reputation as one of the world’s most sought-after interior designers – not to mention his accolades as an artist, editor and memoirist – this “man who knows everyone” has built friendships with some of the leading cultural icons of our time, including Andy himself. On the occasion of Christie’s new partnership with the Warhol Foundation, Haslam recalls dinners at Andy’s mother’s home and one particularly memorable afternoon stroll when the two men happened upon a couple of nuns shovelling snow…
When did you first meet Andy Warhol?
In the Shoes department at the American Vogue offices in 1962.
How was it for you?
I remember Andy smiling shyly under his then-blondish fringe.
Could you describe Andy Warhol’s scene for us?
The first Factory was a very hand-made affair with walls and pipes and cabinets roughly covered in silver foil. On the other hand, his mother’s house where we went for dinner was extremely neat and bourgeois.
Was everyone aware of what Andy Warhol would/had become at the time?
Absolutely not. We all thought his work was crazy and flash-in-the-pan….until the first Castelli show, that is.
How would you describe Andy’s achievement?
Quite simply, he revolutionised art. Not so much by the actual art itself, but by how people perceive art since.
How was it working with Andy Warhol?
I only did one film for him, and as he merely let the camera roll while he smoked and talked, it was the “actors” who did the work.
What does Andy Warhol mean to you?
I find his writing, whoever did it, is almost as fascinating as his art, whoever did that. But the early films were his own, genius, creations.
How did Andy influence you?
Well, he writes in the diaries that “Nicky Haslam took me to Park Avenue and made me smart”, so I think I probably influenced HIM.
If you could have one piece by Andy Warhol what would it be?
An early ‘Flower Series’ he gave me, signed, which I sold for tuppence when I was broke.
What’s the most typically Warholian meal you can think of?
Frozen custard from a café on 8th St.
What’s the most Warholian quip/anecdote you heard from him?
One day after lunch we saw some nuns shovelling snow on the sidewalk. They were furious when Andy photographed them. He mumbled “Gee, if I were a nun I’d LOVE to be photographed”.
What’s your dream Warhol scenario?
“Dream” is kind of an inappropriate word for Andy. He was one of the most totally organised, practical, and astute beings I ever knew.
What do you think is his legacy?
That he removed the ‘kitsch’ from kitsch.
What do you think is his future?
Do great makers of revolutionary ‘art’ need a future? He made many other people’s futures is more to the point. His past is HIS future.
Soup can or Coke bottle?
I have a Soup can drawing Andy did for me on the title page of A to B and Back Again, so Campbell’s it has to be. And at least I KNOW it’s original.
Follow Nicky
@NicholasHaslam
http://www.nh-design.co.uk
THE WARHOLIAN QUESTIONNAIRE: ROBERT LELEUX
As Managing Editor of the online shelter magazine, Lonny, Robert Leleux is lucky enough to visit the homes of some of today’s leading cultural innovators. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t look to the past for creative inspiration. He was more than game to recall his earliest encounter with Andy’s work, as well as speculate on which media-savvy starlets might be worthy of their own Warholian portraits if the Pop star were alive today.
When did you first encounter Andy’s work?
I remember my mother reading The Andy Warhol Diaries like it was Lady Chatterley’s Lover. That scintillating orange and silver book had smut written all over it.
Who would be Andy’s muse if he were alive today?
Without question, Daphne Guinness. She’s Jackie O by way of Edie Sedgwick.
What are your latest cultural obsessions?
Honey Boo Boo, the Brigid Berlin of the pre-school set.
What would you consider to be Warhol’s personal motto?
“Money is the god of art.”
If you could collaborate with Andy on a design project, what would it be?
Anything he’d have to hawk on HSN. I mean, can you imagine? Performance art par excellence.
Dream dinner-party: you, Warhol, and…?
John Waters. Also, Rufus Wainwright. It could be like a highbrow version of RuPaul’s Drag Race. In fact, now that I think of it, let’s ask RuPaul, too…
Imagine Warhol had a Twitter account. What kind of thing might he say in 140 characters or less?
“In light of Bravo’s Spring lineup, have decided 15 min of fame is too long.”
Whose portrait would Andy most want to do if he were alive today?
I think he’d craft some devastating (and devastatingly remunerative) portrait of the celebrity culture he helped launch—like painting the Kardashians in the spirit of his pea-green Nixon.
If you could own one work by Andy, what would it be?
I’m from Houston, and have always had a hankering for one of his Lynn Wyatt portraits.
Soup can or Coke bottle?
A coke and a smile.
Marilyn, Liz or Jackie?
Why not Liza?
Follow Robert
Twitter: @robertleleux
www.lonny.com
THE WARHOLIAN QUESTIONNAIRE: KATHLEEN MASSARA
We like to think that if Andy and Kathleen had lived at the same time, they would have been fast friends – one making the art, the other facilitating the discourse around it. Here, the Arts Editor and headlinista of The Huffington Post weighs in on Andy’s weakness for fallen women and other newsy treasures.
What was your first Warholian moment?
I honestly can’t remember first encountering Warhol’s work. He seems to have seeped into the culture so that he was part of the conversation my whole life. I do, however, remember reading The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B & Back Again) as a teenager and discovering he was the Oscar Wilde of art.
Who would be Andy’s muse if he were alive today?
Probably Lindsay Lohan, since Andy loved tragic figures.
What are your latest cultural obsessions?
Helen Harris’ DJ skills, Kenya (Robinson)’s “Remitting Default: Sonic Diagrams,” the re-release of earnest and bizarre films like Miami Connection, tragic karaoke videos, Jim Kempner’s video series, “The Madness of Art,” new DAP/Artbook releases, and zine libraries.
What is a Warhol-worthy headline from your world of late?
“Ng Goon Lau Is Hong Kong’s Haunted Real Estate King”
I think Andy would appreciate “the death discount” mentioned in the article, as well as the curious title.
If you could collaborate with Andy on a project, what would it be?
An antiseptic, but oddly decadent wig party. Everyone would come in wearing wigs, and there would be stylists available to give your wig a haircut when you were ready for one. There would be a lot of sitting and commenting on hairstyles.
Dream dinner-party: you, Warhol, and…..?
Salvador Dalí, of course! Oh, and a lobster phone, so we could order the random things that Andy would want at a party.
Imagine Warhol had a Twitter account. What kind of thing might he say in 140 characters or less?
“Existence itself is nothing”
Whose portrait would Andy most want to do if he were alive today?
Probably Kate Middleton’s portrait. I can see him wanting to tackle the Duchess, especially after her latest portrait debacle.
If you could own one work by Andy, what would it be?
The “Day-Glo acid green” work from the “Shadows” series or Self Portrait with Skull (1978).
Soup can or Coke bottle?
Coke bottle. It’s more universal.
Marilyn, Liz or Jackie?
Marilyn, of course!
Follow Kathleen:
Twitter: @HuffPostArts / @KathleenMassara
www.huffingtonpost.com/arts
