Andy Warhol at the PAM

November 7, 2016 Julia Matschukat

When I heard that an Andy Warhol exhibit was coming to the Portland Art Museum, I cleared my schedule for that following weekend.

As a frequent museum-goer all over the states and abroad, I've seen quite a few Warhols in my day, but I knew this exhibit would rival any showing I'd seen in the past - and it did.

When we entered, we walked into the main foyer of the museum that was covered in Warhol-esque wall paper, Mao Te-Sung prints, and featured a beanbag area to sit and ponder the work. Select artists from the J ustSeeds Artists' Cooperative also scheduled times throughout the exhibition to demonstrate the silk-screening process.

After exploring the foyer, we headed up to the 2nd floor of the museum to work out way through the exhibit in chronological order.

We started in the 1950s, when Warhol was making advertisements and hilarious, illustrated books.

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We then entered through a foiled "portal" into the 1960s. The next room held the Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy portraits, flowers, and soup cans that most know Warhol for.

The Portland Art Museum's wall texts did a wonderful job of giving historical context to the work. While I studied Art History and was aware of many of the outside forces inspiring and affecting Warhol, the people I was with truly appreciated this fascinating insight.

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I found the "Birmingham Race Riot" screen print depicting police brutality especially pertinent to today's political and social climate in America. In fact, there have been multiple police protests in Portland over the last several months alone, including one that took place at the PAM. A group called Don't Shoot PD X protested in a peaceful forum in partnership with the museum and acted as an open dialogue between police and the Portland community. I am grateful that the Portland Art Museum is an advocate and can help groups find a louder voice within the community about social issues that truly matter.

I found his flower studies intriguing as well. There was a dynamic movement and musicality that they evoked - I could have sat in this room a long while feeling the artwork swirl around me.

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Down the staircase, we entered the last room of the Warhol exhibit. This room was filled with works from the 1970s and 80s.

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This impressive exhibit spans four decades and includes every style of Andy Warhol's work. If you are in the area, this exhibit is not to be missed. On through January 1, 2017 - plan your visit today!

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Richard Mosse

February 16, 2016 Julia Matschukat

Richard Mosse opened his Artist Talk in the lower level of the Portland Art Museum with this quote:

“I AM A CAMERA WITH ITS SHUTTER OPEN, QUITE PASSIVE, RECORDING, NOT THINKING. RECORDING THE MAN SHAVING AT THE WINDOW OPPOSITE AND THE WOMAN IN THE KIMONO WASHING HER HAIR. SOME DAY, ALL THIS WILL HAVE TO BE DEVELOPED, CAREFULLY PRINTED, FIXED.”

― Christopher Isherwood, Goodbye to Berlin

These words set the stage for the rest of his meandering talk about his various projects that came before “The Enclave” - all with the common theme of revealing the invisible, or making the unseen, seen.

Richard Mosse giving an Artist Talk at the Portland Art Museum.

As an Art History major I found so many parallels between his work, and that of landscape and historical painters of the past. Capturing a moment in time, documenting traces of people, their objects, their ideas.

Mosse, too, is fascinated by looking for layers - traces of ancient civilization, ruins of a fallen dictator, new occupation moving in. In fact, Mosse himself referenced Gericoult’s The Raft of Medusa before the lecture concluded, saying that much of his work evokes that of classical, history painting.

Théodore Géricault, The Raft of the Medusa 1818–1819. — Théodore Géricault, *The Raft of the Medusa* 1818–1819.

Towards the end of his talk, Mosse candidly talked about the consequences his photo and film making can have on others. Unlike a “real” photo journalist, Mosse breaks rules as an artist in order to share the stories and keep his subjects safe. In this way, Mosse’s The Enclave is successful - he illuminates the places and stories that are kept in the dark, but he does so with an immense sense of responsibility and obligation to his subjects.

Richard Mosse, Stills from 'The Enclave' film and images from the exhibit at the Portland Art Museum, 2012-2013

The Congo’s political, historical, and social history is so complex and convoluted. Having the opportunity to listen to Richard Mosse speak before seeing his work, put the whole exhibit into perspective.

I heard his voice echo in my head as I walked the exhibit on the 3rd floor - his rule breaking altered the way I looked and perceived. These colors - absurd - this landscape - beautiful - this subject matter - moving, haunting, eye-opening, tragic. Richard Mosse succeeded in starting a conversation in my head. A conversation that I will pursue and continue to have with others, and one that I encourage you to experience for yourself, if you can!

Explore Richard Mosse’s website for further exhibit dates and locations.

Artist and photographer Richard Mosse reveals the stories behind the making of his latest film, 'The Enclave’ (2013), in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The film was shown in the Irish Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale and was the 2014 winner of the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize.

The Impossible Image is a behind-the-scenes video that gives viewers insight into how 'The Enclave' was filmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Originally posted here February 2015.

Source: http://portlandartmuseum.org/exhibitions/e...