Andy Warhol once said, “The idea is not to live forever; it is to create something that will.” Over three decades since his death, Warhol’s art is still prominent on the walls of galleries and homes across the globe. This exhibition reveals an unseen side of the artist through his career-long obsession with photography. Whether he was behind or in front of the camera, photography formed an essential part of his artistic practice while also capturing an insider’s view of his celebrity social world. Decades before social media, Warhol’s photography was candid, collaborative and social, attuned to the power of the image to shape his public persona and self-identity. This exhibition asks the question, was Warhol the original influencer?
Andy Warhol and Photography: A Social Media features photographs, experimental films, and paintings by Warhol, alongside works by his photographic collaborators and creative contemporaries.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), Bianca Jagger at Halston’s house, New York, no. 1 from the portfolio ‘Photographs’, 1976; published 1980, New York, United States, gelatin-silver photograph, 40.8 × 28.8cm (image), 50.5 × 41.0cm (sheet). James and Diana Ramsay Fund 2020, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide © Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. ARS/Copyright Agency. Courtesy Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Oliviero Toscani, Andy Warhol, 1975, New York, pigment print on paper, 32 × 46cm (image), 40 × 50cm (sheet). Public Engagement Fund 2021, Art Gallery of South Australia. © the artist. Courtesy the artist and Art Gallery of South Australia
“. . . a good picture is . . . of a famous person doing something unfamous. It’s about being in the right place at the wrong time.”
– Andy Warhol
Installation view, ‘Andy Warhol and Photography: A Social Media’ featuring Andy Warhol’s Self-portraits, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. Photograph: Saul Steed
Art Gallery of South Australia
3 March to 14 May 2023
Adelaide
