Press Release Public Programs

A group of eight people stand together looking at the camera.

The Mekons, photo by Ricky Malpas

For immediate release

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Exhibitions

Kim Gordon: Lo-Fi Glamour
Through September 1, 2019

Kim Gordon: Lo-Fi Glamour, the artist’s first North American museum solo-exhibition, features painting, sculpture, a new series of figure drawings, and a commissioned score for Andy Warhol’s 1963–64 silent film Kiss.

Celebrated for her work as a founding member of the experimental post-punk band Sonic Youth, Kim Gordon is a multi-disciplinary artist and thinker who has worked in fashion, publishing, film and music. In the 1980s, it was through art that she found music, coming to Sonic Youth from an early interest in art, aesthetics, and performance. She went to art school at the Otis College of Art and Design. In 1980, just a year after moving to New York, Gordon staged her first exhibition, Design Office, and a year later co-curated an exhibition of musicians for Noise Fest both at the artist led, White Columns. In the early 2000s, she returned to her artistic pursuits with new gusto, developing a series of canvases she refers to as Noise Name paintings, which are inspired by her musical roots. Her sculpture of silver glitter takes inspiration from the lo-fi aesthetic of Warhol’s Silver Factory and her paintings echo the raw, graffiti-aesthetic of noise bands of the 1980s. The exhibition will also feature figure drawings and erotic sculptures, paring intimate works that complement the elegance and intimacy of Warhol’s Kiss.

Gordon sites Warhol as one of her artistic influences, particularly the lo-fi aesthetic of Warhol’s studio, as well as his involvement with the Velvet Underground, and his multi-disciplinary practice in fashion, painting, music, publishing, and performance. The exhibition and commissioned score, Sound for Andy Warhol’s Kiss honors Gordon’s early interests in Warhol while also spotlighting the development of her artistic voice.

Kim Gordon: Lo-Fi Glamour is curated by Jessica Beck, Milton Fine curator of art and Ben Harrison, curator of performing arts & special projects at The Warhol. A limited-edition vinyl record of Gordon’s commissioned score, performed with fellow musicians Bill Nace, Steve Gunn, and John Truscinski, and a booklet of essays that contextualize her artistic practice accompany the exhibition.

Kim Gordon: Lo-Fi Glamour is generously supported by Alexa and Adam Wolman.

Programs

Dandy Andy: Warhol’s Queer History
Saturday, May 25, 2019
3 p.m.

Join artist educators for Dandy Andy, a monthly tour that focuses on Warhol’s queer history. While his sexuality is frequently suppressed or debated, Warhol was a gay man who had several partners throughout his life. Warhol’s boyfriends, including Edward Wallowitch, John Giorno, and Jed Johnson, were also his colleagues and collaborators, helping to shape and define his career as an artist. This tour traces Warhol’s romantic relationships and queer identity against the backdrop of the historical gay rights movement in the United States. Tours meet on the museum’s seventh floor.
Free with museum admission

In Conversation with Artist Mickalene Thomas and Jose Diaz, Chief Curator
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
7:30 p.m.
The Westmoreland Museum of American Art (Greensburg)

Co-presented with The Westmoreland Museum of American Art
The Warhol, in partnership with The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, presents a conversation exploring the artistic practices and the thematic and stylistic similarities between the work of Mickalene Thomas and Andy Warhol. Join us to learn more about Thomas’ Shug Kisses Celie, one of the newest works to enter The Westmoreland’s collection, as well as Thomas’ and Warhol’s use of imagery appropriated from popular culture and art history.
Free parking available in The Westmoreland lot.
Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: $10; Visit warhol.org

ONLINE REGISTRATION SOLD OUT
LGBTQ+ Youth Prom 2019
Saturday, June 1, 2019
6–10 p.m.
The Warhol entrance space

Join The Warhol for the sixth annual LGBTQ+ Youth Prom, the largest LGBTQ+ Youth Prom in Southwestern Pennsylvania. This inclusive celebration ensures that every young person can make their prom night a treasured memory. Entry to Prom includes a sit-down dinner, dancing, silkscreen printing, and other activities. Prom is open to youth ages 13-20 years old.
The Warhol LGBTQ+ Youth Prom is generously supported by FedEx Ground and The Keith Haring Foundation.
Free; Registration is required. Visit warhol.org

Screening of Sir Drone
Friday, June 14, 2019
7 p.m.
The Warhol theater

Join The Warhol for a special screening of Raymond Pettibon’s 1989 film, Sir Drone, selected by Kim Gordon. Described by Gordon as “epic”, Sir Drone follows teenagers from the industrial part of Los Angeles as they try to form a punk band in Hollywood. The film features artist Mike Kelley, bassist Matt Watt, and even a character named “Goo”. Shot in two days on home-video equipment with dialogue read off cue cards, Sir Drone is part of a series of feature-length, low-tech video narratives that Pettibon made in the late 1980s focused on West Coast American radical subjects of the 1960s and 1970s. The screening will feature a personal video introduction from Kim Gordon.
Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Kim Gordon: Lo-Fi Glamour.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Free; Registration is required; Visit warhol.org

Art in Context: Before Stonewall
Friday, June 28, 2019
8 p.m.–midnight
The Warhol theater and entrance space

Co-presented with Reel Q: Pittsburgh LGBTQ+ Film Festival
On the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, Reel Q: Pittsburgh LGBTQ+ Film Festival and The Warhol present Before Stonewall, an award-winning documentary film that offers a fascinating, fast-paced history of the LGBTQ+ community in America through historical footage and revealing interviews. Co-director and producer Robert Rosenberg will appear on-screen for a Skype Q&A following the film. Afterwards, Jellyfish (DJs Steph Tsong, Ricky Moslen and Adam Shuck) will host a late-night, queer dance party in the museum’s entrance space, weaving together Italo Disco, New Wave and Post-Punk tracks with video and visual collage. A cash bar will be available.
Free; Registration is required; Visit warhol.org

Stonewall 50: A Gender Inclusive Celebration for Families
Saturday, June 29, 2019
10 a.m.–5 p.m.

On the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, join The Warhol for an all ages, family-friendly celebration of LGBTQ+ arts, culture and inclusive community. Drop in for gallery activities, film screenings, live performance, art making, special guests and surprises throughout the day.

Featuring:

  • Gallery tours and hands-on activities throughout the day
  • 11 a.m. Friends of Dorothy: Queer and Experimental Shorts for Kids of All Ages presented by Fairy Fantastic in The Warhol theater
  • 1 p.m. Drag Queen Story Hour with Ms. Akasha L Van-Cartier and friends
  • 2 p.m. Dreams of Hope: Queer Youth Arts Showcase in The Warhol theater
  • 3 p.m. QTPOC Book Exchange and Reading with the Black Unicorn Library in The Warhol theater
  • 4 p.m. Vogue performance and workshop with True T PGH in The Warhol entrance space
  • And much more!

Free with museum admission

Dandy Andy: Warhol’s Queer History
Saturday, June 29, 2019
3 p.m.

Join artist educators for Dandy Andy, a monthly tour that focuses on Warhol’s queer history. While his sexuality is frequently suppressed or debated, Warhol was a gay man who had several partners throughout his life. Warhol’s boyfriends, including Edward Wallowitch, John Giorno, and Jed Johnson, were also his colleagues and collaborators, helping to shape and define his career as an artist. This tour traces Warhol’s romantic relationships and queer identity against the backdrop of the historical gay rights movement in the United States. Tours meet on the museum’s seventh floor.
Free with museum admission

Sound Series: An Evening with the Mekons
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
8 p.m.
The Warhol entrance space

The Warhol welcomes back the Mekons, the highly influential and eclectic British punk band that rock critic Lester Bangs hailed as “the most revolutionary group in the history of rock ‘n’ roll”. This genre-defying collective emerged from the 1977 punk scene, where the Mekons progressed from socialist art students with no musical skills to the prolific, raucous progeny of Hank Williams. Revenge of the Mekons, a documentary about the band released nationwide in 2015 on Music Box Films.
Tickets: $25/$20 members & students; Visit warhol.org or call 412-237-8300

Sound Series: Belle & Sebastian with special guest Men I Trust
Thursday, July 18, 2019
8 p.m.
Carnegie Music Hall (Oakland)

Co-presented with WYEP
The Warhol welcomes back Belle & Sebastian to the opulent Carnegie Music Hall, six years after co-presenting their Pittsburgh debut in 2013. Since emerging out of Glasgow, Scotland in ’96, the band has been hugely influential in the broad realm of indie-pop, with multiple albums in the UK top 20. Their most recent output, a trio of EPs titled How To Solve Our Human Problems, Parts 1-3 was a return to an earlier format, allowing the music to emerge organically on EP sessions. New music in the form of a soundtrack to Simon Bird’s upcoming film, Days of The Bagnold Summer, due for release later this year. Still regarded as “One of the most thoughtful and compelling bands out there” (The Times), Belle & Sebastian are soon to head to The Mediterranean to launch their four-day festival at sea, The Boaty Weekender. The Montreal-based trio, Men I Trust, open the show.
Tickets: $35/$30 sightline obstructed; Visit warhol.org or call 412-237-8300

Dandy Andy: Warhol’s Queer History
Saturday, July 27, 2019
3 p.m.

Join artist educators for Dandy Andy, a monthly tour that focuses on Warhol’s queer history. While his sexuality is frequently suppressed or debated, Warhol was a gay man who had several partners throughout his life. Warhol’s boyfriends, including Edward Wallowitch, John Giorno, and Jed Johnson, were also his colleagues and collaborators, helping to shape and define his career as an artist. This tour traces Warhol’s romantic relationships and queer identity against the backdrop of the historical gay rights movement in the United States. Tours meet on the museum’s seventh floor.
Free with museum admission

Half-Pint Prints
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
10 a.m.–12 p.m.
The Factory

Families work with The Warhol’s artist educators to create silkscreen prints during this drop-in silkscreen printing activity for children ages 1 to 4 years old.
Free with museum admission; Registration is required; Visit warhol.org

Dandy Andy: Warhol’s Queer History
Saturday, August 24, 2019
3 p.m.

Join artist educators for Dandy Andy, a monthly tour that focuses on Warhol’s queer history. While his sexuality is frequently suppressed or debated, Warhol was a gay man who had several partners throughout his life. Warhol’s boyfriends, including Edward Wallowitch, John Giorno, and Jed Johnson, were also his colleagues and collaborators, helping to shape and define his career as an artist. This tour traces Warhol’s romantic relationships and queer identity against the backdrop of the historical gay rights movement in the United States. Tours meet on the museum’s seventh floor.
Free with museum admission


The Warhol receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; and The Heinz Endowments. Further support is provided by the Allegheny Regional Asset District.

The Andy Warhol Museum

Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the place of Andy Warhol’s birth, The Andy Warhol Museum holds the largest collection of Warhol’s artworks and archival materials and is one of the most comprehensive single-artist museums in the world. The Warhol is one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Established in 1895 by Andrew Carnegie, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh is a collection of four distinctive museums: Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Science Center, and The Andy Warhol Museum. The museums reach more than 1.4 million people a year through exhibitions, educational programs, outreach activities, and special events.

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Credit and copyright

The Mekons, photo by Ricky Malpas

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A group of eight people stand together looking at the camera.

The Mekons, photo by Ricky Malpas

Credit and copyright

Sir Drone, Courtesy of Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York

Downloads

Man with long dark hair, sunglasses, and a t-shirt that says, “I’m mellow” plays a cream-colored electric guitar.

Sir Drone, Courtesy of Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York

Credit and copyright

Still image from Stinkhorn, courtesy of Fairy Fantastic

Downloads

A multi-colored person rides an oversized horse against a backdrop of psychedelic colors and patterns.

Still image from Stinkhorn, courtesy of Fairy Fantastic