(October 3, 2008)

Contact: Rick DelaHaya, Centenary News Services, 318.869.5073 or Diane Dufilho at 318.869.5169.

Rare Andy Warhol Photography Collection Displayed at Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College Beginning Nov. 2

SHREVEPORT, La.—Photographic images taken by the legendary Pop artist and American icon Andy Warhol will be on display at the Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College from Nov. 2, through the end of January, 2009.

The photographs were donated to the Meadows Museum as part of the Warhol Photographic Legacy Project designed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Warhol Foundation. The Meadows Museum of Art was among more than 180 colleges and universities across the United States chosen to participate in the Warhol Photographic Legacy Project.

A pioneer of the Pop Art movement of the 1960s, Warhol turned from advertising and journalism to photographic imagery as the starting-point for his celebrated silkscreen works. An obsessive photographer, it is estimated that Andy Warhol made between 60,000 and 100,000 snapshots during his lifetime. The artist's photographs captured the faces of the rich and famous, the glittering New York disco scene, and glimpses of his world travels. The camera was his constant companion, serving as a combination sketchbook and diary.

According to Timothy Hunt, the exclusive agent for prints and photography at the Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Warhol himself referred specifically to his Polaroid camera as his "pencil and paper" producing the "sketches" from which images for the finished paintings and silkscreen prints were chosen. The Meadows Museum's exhibition will allow visitors to examine examples of Warhol's Polaroid portraits that provide an intimate glimpse into how the artist worked. The Polaroids also provide and interesting and unusual look at the intimate relationship between photographer and his many willing subjects.

"Warhol defined Pop Art and this collection of Warhol works is truly one of the cornerstones of the modern art collection housed in the permanent collection of the Meadows Museum of Art," said Diane Dufilho, Director of Meadows Museum. "We are proud to have been selected as one of the Warhol Photographic Legacy Project recipients, and will both display the photographs and use them as teaching tools."

A number of public programs have been designed in tandem with (extra) Ordinary: The Photographs of Andy Warhol. Included are a gallery talk on Warhol's photographs by Dr. Lisa Nicoletti, Chair of the Art Department of Centenary College, and lectures by contemporary photographers J. Shimon and J. Lindemann, Assistant Professors of Art at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., whose photographic exhibition at Centenary College's Turner Art Center coincides with the presentation of Warhol's works at the Meadows. Shimon and Lindemann's talk entitled Unmasked & Anonymous kicks off the opening of both photographic exhibitions on Sunday, November 2, at 2 p.m. in the Meadows Museum galleries.

The Meadows Museum of Art is open Tuesday through Sunday:

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday from noon until 4 p.m.
Thursday noon until 5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday 1 until 4 p.m.

For more information about the exhibit, contact Diane Dufilho at 318.869.5169.

Other Coverage

Video courtesy of KTBS.

You can also read coverage from the Shreveport Times.

About Centenary College of Louisiana

Centenary College is a private, four-year arts and sciences college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Centenary is one of 16 colleges and universities constituting the Associated Colleges of the South and is regularly rated as one of the top colleges in the South. In 2008 Centenary College celebrates 100 years in Shreveport and Bossier City.