User:Dkmarshall/Warhol

Interview with USI Professor of Art Kathryn Waters, 812-464-1933, kmwaters@usi.edu DM-Dennis Marshall KW- Kathryn Waters

• DK-How did the wheels get rolling on putting together a gallery of Andy Warhol’s art, here at USI?
• KW-USI is one of the universities chosen by the Andy Warhol foundation to give some of Andy Warhol’s artworks. He did thousands and thousands of artworks throughout his life. So about five or six years ago they contacted us and asked us if we would like to accept some of his prints, and of course we said yes! Of course we did want to. The first gifts were Polaroids and black and white photos. When you would go into Andy Warhol’s studio in New York in the sixties and seventies he or on elf his assistants would almost immediately take a Polaroid of you. And several as you can see. (Pointing to multiple Polaroid’s of each person). So he just recorded who came in. Same thing with the black and whites, these are probably parties he had at his studio, he called the factory, and it was quite the party place. These are records of people who came in and out. Some are famous. Other people are just friends of his. I don’t have the names. Susan has the names.
• DK-Who is more of the famous people we have pictures of?
• KW- Dennis Hopper, and…now your asking the wrong person about this because I don’t know the rest of them, I do have a list of course. Others are Socialites, important in New York Society, wealthy people who would just come to visit because they like the vibe of all these crazy artists working together in the factory. The main parts of our Warhol exhibit are photographs. We also just received, about three months ago, these beautiful, six very large silkscreen prints. Pop art was about what popular American culture really thought was important. That’s why he did the Campbell soup cans or the Marilyn pictures, these iconic products of American culture whether they be in film, video or actually products we consumed. So even back in the 60s he was very aware of this part of our culture. Which as we all know in 2014, has only increased probably a 1000 fold. The theme of the show, one major them of the show is photography. It opens tomorrow night and runs till March 9.
• DM- what will the university do with the artwork when the exhibit is over?
• KW-Good question, the photographs, the small one we will take out of the frames because it’s not good for them to sit in the frames. And they will be in very secure storage until we show them again. One of the criteria of us accepting these artworks are we would show them at least once every ten years. And we do have more, and of course we are hoping they will give us more in the next ten years. The big prints might go out in locations on campus. Securely mounted, probably in the library or other public places.

She then told me about the photo booth they are having at opening night and her and a photographer from the courier and press had a little conversation.

• KW-We are hoping between the clouds and photos and the food and then we are going to play the Velvet Underground, was a group very much associated with Warhol and the factory. Lou Reed was the head of the Velvet Underground and he just died a few weeks ago. They were very good friends. We are going to have a party.
• DM-Do you have any idea on the value of the art? Like what is the most expensive piece?
• KW- I would think these prints are but again Susan (Spelling Schutz) the register of the collection would know that. I think these would be worth something, definitely, that why they are security hung.
• DM- why should the USI community come?
• KW-I thinks everybody knows Andy Warhol’s name, even non-art people, that’s a name they might know because he was such a personality. This gallery has only been here five years so its relatively new and I bet a lot people on campus don’t know it here because it’s tucked away in the back. I would just say come, experience, enjoy, get your picture taken and we part of the art.