Andy Warhol's Factory 2009—His Life Through Art
Children's Museum in Canada Explores The World of Andrew Warhola
Jan 10, 2009
Jane Goodall's Discovering Chimpanzees to Andy Warhol's Factory 2009
In 2007, self-described dreamer David Marksell wondered how he and The Waterloo [Ontario] Children’s Museum staff were going to follow up the success of Discovering Chimpanzees: The Remarkable World of Jane Goodall. Then the executive director, a former marketing director for Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition, had a scathingly brilliant idea. Why not revisit one of the art world's most profilic figures of the 1960s and introduce him to a younger generation in the year 2009 by creating, The Art, Inspiration and Appropriation of Andy Warhol.
What sparked the idea to bring in Andy Warhol’s Factory 2009?
David Marksell: (modestly) "It was around the table, but I lay awake almost a year ago – thinking Jane Goodall’s coming, and I was satisfied that it would be more than a big success, and I thought …. Oh sh*t... What are we going to do to follow that up? We have now set a bar, and what are we going to do to get to the next level while challenging the community, the museum and our staff?"
"In terms of arts, science and technology, art was something that was on my radar, so that would be the obvious next one to do. We liked that time of January through early spring as a nice shoulder season for us to be in the spotlight in this community while others have other times in the spotlight."
"I was on the Internet exploring the world to see what might come here, what I might be able to bring here, and I came across Andy Warhol and I thought: you know what? That’s a huge brand. There’s something there and so my first step was talking to the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and The Children’s Museum in Pittsburgh, and sure enough there was an exhibit that we could borrow to bring in. Once I had that, I had the nucleus to build everything around it. We have a wonderful curator, Marla Wasser, who is taking care of the major art display (60 original prints) as part of Andy Warhol’s Factory 2009."
World Class Exhbit features Lou Reed, Edie Sedgwick, Velvet Underground, plus 60 Original Warhols
What can people expect to see in this exhibit?
David Marksell: "Andy Warhol is a good example of the museum’s cross-generational appeal. It’s all for general audiences, so there is a children’s component, but it will also have a collection of photographs from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – from Warhol’s Factory in 1965 through 1967 with Lou Reed and Edie Sedgwick and a number of the band members from Velvet Underground. There will also be films that Warhol created, including his screen test Empire."
"The exhibit will have more than 60 original Warhols, which is staggering. When we started this, I thought this would be fun and let’s see how far we can go. The Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and The Warhol Foundation in New York and Ontario Tourism have said we have created something here in Kitchener Waterloo that’s world-class."
"In fact, we have already some nibbles about people asking if we can move this show to another city. So we are beginning conversations there, but wouldn’t that be wonderful if something created in Waterloo Region now jumps into another US city somewhere?"
Interview Magazine and MTV
Does the show include Warhol’s contemporaries; Jean Michel Basquiat etc?
David Marksell: “The whole group were so creative, and Warhol was so prolific. He created Interview magazine, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary. He made 4,000 films and videos and worked in almost every medium in terms of art, and he had an MTV television show which I recently discovered in my research. Warhol truly was into everything. He was the manager of The Velvet Underground. But the essence of Factory 2009 is things that inspired Warhol, his art or innovation, and then how he has been appropriated or copied by contemporary artists.”
Are you excited about the potential for this show?
David Marksell: "My young staff is wonderful, and they keep me energized every day. It’s time to have some fun. The exhibit is during the cold winter months of January and February, and I hope we are a catalyst for everyone to 'get their Warhol on.'”
Andy Warhol’s Factory 2009 opens January 19 and runs to April 19, 2009.
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