Warhol Live

While in Montreal last week, J. and I went to the Museum of Fine Arts to see an exhibition, Warhol Live: Music and Dance in Andy Warhol's Work. I really enjoyed it - and learned a lot about Warhol in the process.

The exhibition started out by looking at the teenaged Andy's fascination with Hollywood stars. It then moved on to his lifelong love of classical music and dance. I wasn't aware that he'd done stage designs for dance companies - but one of the more interesting rooms in the exhibit replicated one of his designs. It consisted mainly of pillow-shaped silver-foil balloons, filled with a mixture of gases which enabled them to float just above floor level; the dancers then performed around them, to a cacophonous soundtrack. It went down a storm with J.'s five-year-old daughter A., who came with us to the exhibit and who had a ball playing with the pillow-balloons.

However, most of the exhibition focused on Warhol's interest in music. There was a big display of all the many album covers he designed over the course of his career. Quite a lot of attention was given to Warhol's management of the Velvet Underground, and later to his involvement with Studio 54 and Interview magazine. However the best part of the exhibition, in my opinion, was the room which attempted to replicate the atmosphere of Warhol's Silver Factory, which featured a large divan in the centre of the room covered with throws and cushions. Visitors are encouraged to crash on the cushions while trippy colours and patterns are projected onto the walls and ceiling, and tracks from the Velvet Underground are played.

All in all, a fun and interactive exhibit. It's moving on in the new year to San Francisco and Pittsburgh. Highly recommended!