Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 11:21:21 -0700 (PDT) From: Gretchen Van Lente <gretchen-AT-dramaofworks.com> To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Andy Warhol Soup Cans, etc., etc. Well said, Sean! (Of course some experiments turn out better than others...) Speaking of good experiments - thanks to Steve Widerman for putting together such a great program in Huntington. I couldn't get out there, but it is just so great that he made that happen - KUDOS! - Gretchen --- biersblackwood-AT-aol.com wrote: > Gretchen, > > The baby can of soup in "Warhol" having a shock of white hair > was a > touch I loved. > > (And reminds me that there will have to be another opening for > my > Puppet Slam Cafe piece at the Puppets on the Sound Fest, > organized by > Steve Widerman and the Huntington Arts Council and the Cinema > Arts > Centre, as my Slam piece in St Paul opened with an angry soup > can... I > thought about giving him a tuft of hair, but none of my > attempts looked > as good as the wig you'd used in the show I'd just seen that > night! > Hmmm... See how I've cleverly worked a plug for tomorrow > night's show > in Huntington in here....) > > That your show focused on some unknown aspects of Andy > Warhol's > personal life -- for instance his deeply religious nature -- > was one of > the things I liked best about it. His religion and art met, > in one > case, when he wrote a letter to John Paul II asking the Pope > not to > have the Sistine Chapel ceiling cleaned, as Warhol felt that > the > centuries of grime and soot that had built up on the painting > added to > its artistic strength, at least for the generations who had > known it > only in its somewhat clouded state. > > The Pope had it cleaned anyway... but in 400 years, it will no > doubt > look the way Warhol preferred it! > > Everything we do, or should do, whether it be a puppet show, a > puppet > slam, an art installation, painting the Sistine Chapel, > gingerly > cleaning the Sistine Chapel so that it might look the way > Michelangelo > intended (or not cleaning it because the environment and > history of the > piece have become part of the experience)... well, all these > things are > merely artistic experiments. > > Sean K. > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Gretchen Van Lente <gretchen-AT-dramaofworks.com> > To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org > Sent: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:05:27 -0700 (PDT) > Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Andy Warhol Soup Cans, etc., etc. > > > > > > > Hey Alan - thanks for your insightful words on Warhol and his > place in the art world - basically beginning the very American > pop art movement. Warhol himself began his career as an > illustrator, working for shoe designers and such, so he was > already using his art as a product from the beginning. Soup > cans > were simply the next step. > > The subject of Andy being so broad, we had struggled for a > long > time with different versions of the show, trying to cram every > tidbit about the man into the piece. In the end this was not > successful and we decided to focus on the contrasts in his > life > and simple observations about how this might effect a puppet > version of himself looking back on his life: comparing his > mother giving a young Andy (a tiny soup can with white hair) > soup and those soup cans later becoming slick "art" etc. We > purposely left his ties to the greater art world back in > previous versions of the show. We wanted the piece to be more > about his personal life and the ways it influenced his art and > vice versa. (He did say his mother fed him soup every day for > lunch.) It also was meant to be witty, whimsical and > light-hearted and at times very abstract, as his paintings > were. > > > I'm sorry you didn't get as much out of the show as you might > have wanted, but I love that the show has got you posting > about > Warhol and discussing him as an artist - in that alone, I > think > we were successfull. In my mind a show is never "done" so if > you > have more notes for me on the piece I would love to hear them, > please write me off-list if you'd like! > > - Gretchen > Artistic Director, Drama of Works > Director, WARHOL > > > --- Alan Cook <alangregorycook-AT-msn.com> wrote: > > > Since the 2007 Puppet Rampage offered a show about Andy > Warhol > > (with a single puppet portrait of Andy) I was hoping we'd > have > > learned more about Andy and his significance (if any) in the > > show. I hope the show can be expanded. As it was, for me, > > there was too much missing. > > > > At the time Andy Warhol was unleashed on the art world, a > Los > > Angeles gallery was filled with paintings of Campbell Soup > > flavors. Another gallery down the street, placed a pedestal > in > > their window, placed an actual Campbell's soup can on it, > put > > a sign next to it, "Get the REAL thing here, 89 Cents". > That > > was an effective dialogue. > > > > We hear the phrase from many people, "I don't know anything > > about art, but I know what I like." > > Andy took it a step further and gave people "what they DID > > know"---soup cans, brillo boxes and celeb seriagraph > > portraits. > > > > The art of advertising entered the galleries. Well, art had > > already entered advertising (Tolouse Lautrec posters, > anyone?) > > and why not a two-way street? > > > > ALAN COOK > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org > > Admin interface: > > http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit > > Archives: http://www.driftline.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org > Admin interface: > http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit > Archives: http://www.driftline.org > > > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about > what's free > from AOL at AOL.com. > _______________________________________________ > List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org > Admin interface: > http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit > Archives: http://www.driftline.org > _______________________________________________ List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org Admin interface: http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit Archives: http://www.driftline.org
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