Pop Culture: Selections from the
Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation
August 25-December 2, 2012
The museum celebrates its 20th anniversary with a
reception on September 15.
Malibu, CA--The Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at
Pepperdine University presents Pop Culture: Selections from the Frederick R.
Weisman Art Foundation from August 25 through December 2, 2012.
A reception to celebrate the Weisman Museum's 20th
anniversary will be held on Saturday, September 15, from 5 to 7 p.m. There is
no admission charge and the public is invited to attend.
Pop Art first arose in the early 1960s when artists began
to draw inspiration from the new mass media that was transforming the world.
This exhibition, organized to mark the Weisman Museum's formal dedication on
September 12, 1992, explores the roots of this movement as well as the way
subsequent generations of artists have drawn inspiration from popular culture.
The 1960s are represented by vintage and iconic works by
founding Pop artists such as Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, and Tom Wesselmann.
The complete set of Warhol's silkscreens titled Marilyn Monroe in 10 different
color combinations captures the era's fascination with glamour and celebrity.
In Rosenquist's Sketch for "Fire Pole" Expo 67 Mural Montreal Canada,
the artist shows us only the shoes and lower legs of a man and a metal pole. He
could be either a firefighter rushing to save a life or a dancer at a discotheque.
The pioneering Pop artists provided an example for
younger artists to draw inspiration from the world around them. Art produced in
the 1970s and after reflects a myriad of complex influences, ranging from comic
books and graffiti to video games and cell phones.
Wit, irony, and humor are recurrent themes. Jose Luis
Quinones' Crushed Orange is an immense photorealist canvas of a crushed can of
Orange Crush soda. In his hands, a brand name becomes a physical object,
rendered with painstaking, meticulous realism. Joel Morrison's bronze Alligator
Shoes depicts a pair of shoes made of reptile leather, complete with menacing
alligator teeth.
While some artists were content with borrowing imagery
from television, the pioneering video artist Nam June Paik went so far as to
create a sculpture made from assembled televisions. His Michelin Man Laser
Robot combines television sets from different eras, blending obsolete and
current technology. His work reminds us that television is an inescapable
experience in the modern world.
Works are on view at the Weisman Museum in the Gregg G.
Juarez Gallery, West Gallery, and Ron Wilson-Designer Gallery.
Located on Pepperdine's main campus at 24255 Pacific
Coast Highway in Malibu, CA, the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m.
to 5 p.m., and is closed on Mondays and major holidays, including Thanksgiving
Day and November 23. There is no admission charge.
For more information, call (310) 506-4851, or visit:
http://arts.pepperdine.edu/museum
###
KEY DATES:
Exhibition: August 25-December 2, 2012
20th Anniversary Reception: Saturday, September 15, 5-7
p.m.
Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art
Pepperdine
University
24255 Pacific
Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90263
Museum hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed Mondays and
major holidays, including Thanksgiving Day and November 23.
No admission fee
General
information: (310) 506-4851
Museum staff:
(310) 506-7257
http://arts.pepperdine.edu/museum
Media Contact: Brad White
Marketing and Publicity
Manager
Center for the
Arts, Pepperdine University
(310) 506-4055
Images available upon request
Museum Contact:
Michael Zakian,
Director
(310) 506-7257
Group Tours Contact:
Monica Chapon
Museum
Assistant/Arts Education Coordinator
(310) 506-4766