30 unique drawings, 25 original record sleeves, magazines and a film by American artist Andy Warhol are on display at PXL University College in Hasselt. The drawings, including some homoerotic works, come from a private Antwerp collection. It is the first time they have been exhibited in Europe. The works were made in the 1950s, even before silk-screen prints of soup cans made Andy Warhol famous.
‘This is a very special drawing,’ says curator Luk Lambrecht as he points to a drawing of a man with two women behind him. The ladies' hats are coloured in with watercolours. ‘The drawing was made using the ‘blotted line technique’, which means he pressed lines drawn with ink that were still wet onto another sheet of paper, copying the drawing in a mirror image. He coloured in the women's hats afterwards.’This technique is Warhol's first attempt to reproduce his works with ease. In the case of these drawings, it is still done by hand, from 1962 onwards it was done by machine. ‘Here is another work, a drawing with playing children where he uses the same technique. He copies the drawing and colours the areas afterwards,’ the curator continues. ‘These are the highlights of the exhibition.’
Who is Andy Warhol?
Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was an American artist of the Pop Art era. He became famous on account of his silk-screen prints of famous people in bright colours or images of everyday utensils including soup cans and banknotes.
He started producing these silk-screen prints in the 1960s; before that, he made drawings and made a living in advertising. Besides screen prints, he published a magazine, made films and collaborated with musicians from the band ‘The Velvet Underground’.
Meeting Andy Warhol
PXL University College is very proud to have been able to bring this exhibition to Hasselt, the capital of Limburg Province. ‘It allows us to show Limburg and the rest of Flanders that we can feature alongside other big cities,’ beams department head of arts education PXL Dirk Reynders. ‘This is also a good opportunity for the students from our PXL-Mad School of Arts to get acquainted with Warhol's work, because he was at home in many fields.’
In the exhibition, there are drawings of men wearing earrings and necklaces, juxtaposed to homoerotic drawings of naked, firmly-shaped men. ‘Nowadays nobody takes offence to that,’ clarifies curator Luk Lambrecht. ‘But in 1950s Puritan America, it was not uncontroversial to be ‘different’. Warhol was fascinated by the human body. By the way, did you know that he also depicted a lot of feet? It’s because he was fascinated by shoes for which he made numerous advertisements.’
In addition to original record covers for classical music and jazz, the exhibition also features Andy Warhol's film ‘Sleep’. ‘He made no fewer than 600 films. His first film, dating from 1963, we are showing here: for 5 hours we see a sleeping man. It is a movie about his lover at this time, John Giorno,’ explains the curator. ‘Warhol thought that people came to watch films to see celebrities. He wanted to oblige them, so they could now spend hours watching their favourite actor or even a building.’
Early Andy Warhol
Early Andy Warhol
Early Andy Warhol
Early Andy Warhol
Early Andy Warhol
Early Andy Warhol
Camera on his grave
Andy Warhol continues to make art even today, even after his death. ‘He lives on today in a film. Because there is a webcam aimed at his grave, allowing you to view it at any time of the day. It was Warhol's wish for this to happen, so you see what a genius the man actually was,’ Luk Lambrecht concludes.
The ‘Early Andy Warhol’ exhibition runs until 15 March at the PXL-Mad School of Arts in Hasselt. Open daily bar Sundays from 1pm to 5pm. Admission is free.