AO Art Observed™

Knives (1981) Polaroid Photography by Andy Warhol, via Paul Kasmin Gallery

A selection of 70 Still-Life Polaroids by Andy Warhol are currently on display at the Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York. The works depict a unique assortment of objects taken by Warhol between 1977 and 1983 and photographed as subjects for Warhol’s drawings, silkscreens, and paintings. The rarity of Polaroid film tells of a specific moment in Warhol’s practice as well as in the history of photography.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) is famous for his contributions to Pop Art, an art movement that emerged in the 1950s and remained popular over the next two decades.  Photography was an integral part of Warhol’s artwork.  He often referred to his Polaroid Big Shot camera that he purchased in 1970 as his “Pencil and Paper.”

The exhibition captures a variety of subject matter including ballet shoes, eggs, bananas, knives, guns, and disorderly arrangements of shoes and perfume bottles as well as other commercial products such as his iconic soup can and Brillo boxes.

Andy Warhol Still-Life Polaroids
Paul Kasmin Gallery
511 27th Street New York, New York
through January 10, 2009
Press Release: Andy Warhol Still-Life Polaroids
Press: Andy Warhol’s Still-Life Polaroids at Paul Kasmin Gallery [NY Daily News]

Human Heart (1981) Polaroid Photography by Andy Warhol, via Paul Kasmin Gallery

Objects are arranged in isolation or grouped together in an either orderly or careless fashion. In one work a gray human heart is placed on a bright red plate while in another a series of knives are arranged neatly in a straight line with only one out of place. The variety of such arrangements enlivens everyday objects to explore themes of desire, consumption, and mortality.

Brillo Boxes and Other (1979) Polaroid Photography by Andy Warhol, via Paul Kasmin Gallery
Ballet Slippers (1981) Polaroid Photography by Andy Warhol, via Paul Kasmin Gallery

Bananas (1978) Polaroid Photography by Andy Warhol, via Paul Kasmin Gallery

Perfume Bottles (Halston Campaign) (1979) Polaroid Photography by Andy Warhol, via Paul Kasmin Gallery

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 4th, 2009 at 8:49 am and is filed under Go See. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.