I SHOT WARHOL, WESSELMANN, LICHTENSTEIN, ROSENQUIST AND INDIANA: PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB ADELMAN AND WILLIAM JOHN KENNEDY

Boca Raton Museum of Art

July 2 - September 7, 2008

By Bryan Barcena

Celebrating the work of a visionary group of artists who pioneered the concept of lifestyle as art, the exhibition I SHOT WARHOL… recently shown at the Boca Raton Museum of Art functions to cement the eminent status of these iconic figures. Curated by Wendy Blazier and running concurrently with an exhibition at Rosembaum Contemporary Gallery in Boca Raton, the show offered viewers a chance to soak in the images that aided in creating the myth and status of this visionary generation.

The majority of the exhibition consisted of works by Bob Adelman; the Miami Beach based photographer clearly knew how to capture the kind of images that would become the hallmarks of what we have come to know by these artists. Images of Andy Warhol, in the Silver Factory, behind the lens of the camera, posing for one of his “screen tests,” or partying with a vibrant Edie Segwick, make us understand why this prodigal figure has become such a legend within contemporary society. The mythos surrounding Andy Warhol is clearly outlined in Adelman’s photography, and while his photographs perhaps fall short of providing the viewer with the personal or intimate, they serve as pristine documentation of the life surrounding the legend.  Images of fellow pop sensations Wesselmann, Lichtenstein and Rosenquist follow the same approach; propped against a background of their work or highlighting the process of creation, the images assume a documentary stance. Standouts included a candid image of Wesselman staring fixedly at the nipple of one of his subjects and varied images of Rosenquist constantly dwarfed by the scale of his immense compositions.

The work of William John Kennedy takes a subtle yet discernibly different approach to capturing the aura of Warhol and Robert Indiana. Kennedy’s photographs seem to be the “B-Sides” to Adelman’s “Greatest Hits.” The off-kilter moments take on an air of sincerity that, if further emphasized by Kennedy’s dynamic use of light and composition, enhance these photos past their own subjects. An image of Andy Warhol careening down a fire escape, sandwiched by “Birmingham Race Riot,” adds a feeling of dynamism to a Warhol who is seldom seen in motion, and images of Robert Indiana seem to be more “friend on the couch” than “fly on the wall.”

Fans of Pop were surely delighted by I SHOT WARHOL, and its presence as a cohesive exhibition will only further add to what has become a growing admiration for the genre that has in many ways defined artistic production for the latter half of the twentieth century.