Warhol exhibit turns heads, changes minds

I’ve never been a big fan of Andy Warhol. I never really saw the point in portraying a person’s face in the brightest colors available, or recreating boxes from a store shelf, or even flat-colored soup cans. But as an artist, I study art movements for reference, and I see exhibits for the personal look of art.

As I walked into the Warhol exhibit at the Arkansas Arts Center, I was not surprised to be greeted with huge, fluorescent images of Marilyn Monroe. Her face was on several walls, all bright, but all different. They were much larger than I expected, given that the size referenced in a book gives no justice to an art piece in person. I was able to get close and examine each individual screen print, and read the artist’s explanation for producing these works. I was intrigued.

Continuing through the exhibit, there were several prints that I’ve never seen, and I was happy to see some early works that included sketches. Seeing work from before an artist became famous helps aspiring artists see where it all began.

After looking at a particularly interesting piece about string, I saw a rather large, silver Mylar balloon floating to seemingly nowhere. It had escaped from its room in the exhibit, entitled “Silver Clouds.” This was, by far, my favorite part of the show. I was able to enter into a room that was filled with several of these balloons, all floating to wherever. I was able to stand still and watch balloons surround me and encircle me and I could reach out and touch them. It was my first interactive art exhibit, and it was fun and calming and just amazing.

I was thrilled when I saw the infamous soup cans. Campbell’s Soup has never been so large. Literally. It was a different experience to see them up close and in person. I felt the same way about the Brillo boxes that were on display.

The show features works that I’ve seen for a long time in history books, including the Camouflage series, and works that I think should be in those same books. There were still pieces that I wasn’t impressed with, like his cow wallpaper, but not everything will be appealing. His dollar sign series actually made me laugh out loud.

Being able to see Warhol’s work in a real-life setting has made me look at it in a different way. The artist statements help me understand Warhol’s influences and inspirations. Other people may have the preconceived notions that I had, so I encourage people to see the exhibit just for the experience. There may not be another one like it.

The Arkansas Arts Center is located at 501 E. 9th St. in Little Rock. The Andy Warhol: 15 Weeks of Fame exhibit will run through Feb. 1, 2009. For more information, visit the Center’s Web site at arkarts.com.