INDIANAPOLIS-The
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art will host
exhibitions featuring works by two of America's most well-known pop
artists: Roy Lichtenstein: American Indian Encounters and Andy Warhol's
Cowboys & Indians. Both exhibitions open January 27, 2007, and close
on April 15, 2007.
The Pop Art movement launched in
England
during the 1950s as one of the most important art movements of the 20th
century. It was not until the early 1960s that the pop art movement
migrated to the
United States
and pop art masters, such as
Warhol
and
Lichtenstein
, emerged on the scene. The term Pop Art is used to describe artwork
that borrows and incorporates images found in popular culture such as;
comics, and advertising as seen on bill boards and food packaging.
Both
Warhol
and
Lichtenstein
employed commercial art and comic book illustrating and printing
techniques into their work, blurring the lines between high art and
popular culture.
ROY
LICHTENSTEIN
: AMERICAN INDIAN ENCOUNTERS
This exhibition contains little-known works that draw on Native
American motifs and European modernism (
Picasso
,
Miro
,
Klee
) for inspiration. For
Lichtenstein
, Native American art provided a historical base for American art,
reminiscent of African art's relationship to early European modernism.
The themes and compositions are revisited in
Lichtenstein
's 1979 Amerindian paintings and related drawings and prints.
A sketchbook from 1979 is full of Native American motifs based on
textiles, ceramics, beadwork, quillwork, and baskets. His Amerindian
paintings of the late 1970s may have been stimulated by his experiences
in
Southampton
, residing near a Shinnecock Indian reservation.
Roy
Lichtenstein
: American Indian Encounters presented by the
Blanche
and
Irving
Laurie
Foundation
is organized by the
Montclair
Art Museum
in conjunction with the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation. The exhibition and
catalogue are supported by generous grants from the Blanche and Irving
Laurie Foundation, the Karma Foundation, and from the following
Exhibition Angels: Anonymous, Susan and David Bershad, Bobbi Brown and
Steven Plofker, Suzanne and Jeffrey Citron, Pat and Mort David, Dorothea
and Peter Frank, Gregg Seibert, Linda and Brian Sterling, Judith and
William Turner, Carol and Harlan Waksal, Carol and Terry Wall, and Margo
and Frank Walter. Additional support has been provided by
Adrian
Shelby
,
Jacqueline
and Herb Klein, and
Marilyn
and
Michael
Dore
.
The
Eiteljorg
Museum
is the last stop for this engaging traveling exhibit. A 90-page
exhibition catalogue will be available in White River Trader, the
Eiteljorg
Museum
store.
ANDY
WARHOL
: COWBOYS AND INDIANS
Andy
Warhol
is widely known for his depictions of
celebrities and consumption on a larger-than-life canvas. This rare
suite is one of
Warhol
's last works, created just one year before his death in 1987. In it,
Warhol
pays homage to
America
's popular version of Western history.
He depicts American heroes of the West (General Custer, Teddy
Roosevelt and Geronimo), Western entertainers (Annie Oakley and John
Wayne), and romanticized, stereotyped and exploited images of American
Indians (Indian Head Nickel, Plains Indian Shield, Mother and Child,
Katsina Dolls, and Northwest Coast Mask).
Strategically placing these
clashing icons together in one suite,
Warhol
challenges and exposes the controversies surrounding
America
's perception of cowboys and Indians. For instance, in
Warhol
's print
John
Wayne
,
Wayne
embodies the rugged cowboy: strong, quick and purposeful but hesitant in
speech.
Wayne
's image and influence as an American icon of the West reinforces the
popular perception that the cowboy was the true and glorified hero. In
the meantime, the Indian in
Warhol
's Indian Head Nickel is perpetually stereotyped as the enemy and seen
as a disappearing artifact subject to exploitation.
Both Roy Lichtenstein:
American Indian Encounters and
Andy
Warhol
's Cowboys & Indians present enormous intrigue and playfulness in
the examination of values and popular culture as manifest in the pop art
movement.
POP
GOES THE WEST PROGRAMMING
Pop
Goes the West includes programming that supports the
Lichtenstein
and
Warhol
exhibits and allows guests to experience aspects of pop art in a fun and
engaging way.
The
Eiteljorg
Museum
in conjunction with the Indianapolis Museum of Art will present a
two-part crash course in pop art on Feb. 8 and 15. The first of the two
sessions, held at the IMA, includes a tour of pop art works in the
institution's permanent galleries, as well as a visit to the exhibit Pop
Art Prints. The second will be at the
Eiteljorg
Museum
and will include a tour through
Roy
Lichtenstein
: American Indian Encounters and
Andy
Warhol
's Cowboys and Indians.
On March 10, guests can explore topics including Native American
roles/stereotypes in comics, how Native American comics differ from
mainstream comics, and what budding comic creators can do with
illustrations and story lines. The event will feature panel discussions;
demonstrations by a caricature artist; local and regional comic vendors;
Native American comic collectors and more.
On April 6,
Jennifer
Complo
McNutt
will present the program Personalities of Pop:
Andy
Warhol
and
Roy
Lichtenstein
. McNutt will discuss the personalities and lives of these two icons.
This is a talk in the gallery and informal lunch in the Sky City Café
following the presentation.
In the museum's
Nina
Mason
Pulliam
Education
Center
, families will find daily hands-on activities, as well as workshops
that allow participants to craft Pop Art from Pop Tarts or create a
Lichtenstein-type collage.
For a complete list of programs, visit www.eiteljorg.org.
Special
opening for young professionals
This special showing of Pop Goes the West featuring
Roy
Lichtenstein
: American Indian Encounters and
Andy
Warhol
's Cowboys and Indians for young professionals, is hosted by Agave and
IndyHub. Come for special guided tours of the exhibit, music by DJ Greg
Campbell, signature drink by Jaegermeister, caricatures by
Paul
McCall
and a chance to win your 15 minutes of fame.
Cost is $5 per person and includes one signature drink. Free
admission for Agave Members.
The
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art seeks to inspire an
appreciation and understanding of the art, history and cultures of the
American West and the indigenous peoples of
North America
. The museum, which opened in 1989, is located in
Indianapolis
'
White River
State Park
. For general information about the museum and to learn more about
exhibits and events, call (317) 636-WEST (9378) or visit www.eiteljorg.org.
