until Sunday January 12 2014
Museum Brandhorst
T : +49 (0)89 23805 1321
Theresienstrasse 35a
80333 München
Germany
Was Andy Warhol an intellectual or rather a comic book reader? That the most famous proponent of Pop Art had a great affinity to books is little known, even to connoisseurs. The exhibition, curated by the Museum Brandhorst is the first to show how Warhol pursued the medium of books from his student days in the 1940s until his death in 1987.
While still a student in his hometown Pittsburgh, Warhol drew illustrations for novels and short stories. As a successful graphic artist in 1950s New York, he created and self-edited playful promotional books that he gave to friends and clients. Soon Warhol received commissions for book cover designs from major publishers such as Doubleday and New Directions.
In the early 1960s, the Factory years, the now famous artist gave writer-friends silkscreen prints and photos for their poetry books. Together with Factory assistants, he ultimately compiled provocative tomes using photographs and film material created there.
Audio tape recordings were turned into publications that challenged the boundaries of conventional literature and, at the same time, shaped the image of Warhol as we know it today. The books designed by him reveal a surprisingly unknown aspect of the world-famous artist. Like his art they provoke a revision of preconceived notions of author- and spectatorship.
