 |
  |
|
 |
||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||
Warhol's
Athletes in Eugene Whether you are an art lover or a sports aficionado, the place to be this weekend is the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. On Feb. 11-12, the museum offers a unique opportunity to view Andy Warhol's Athlete Series (1977-79), thanks to the sharing spirit of Seattle art collector Richard Weisman. These 10 portraits of the most influential sports stars at the time — Muhammad Ali, O.J. Simpson, Jack Nicklaus, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pelé, Chris Evert, Tom Seaver, Dorothy Hamill, Willie Shoemaker and Rod Gilbert — were commissioned by Weisman.
The series was his idea. An investment banker, Weisman lived in New York City in the 1970s and was a friend of Warhol's. For Weisman, art and sports were — and still are — a passion. "One reason I encouraged Andy to do this series," Weisman said, "was that there was no connection between art and sports, which are the two main kinds of entertainment." He hoped the series could foster a cross-pollination between the two worlds. Having Warhol do the series would "inspire people who loved sports to come into the galleries, maybe for the first time, and people who liked art would take their first look at a sports superstar," Weisman said. Warhol agreed and put Weisman in charge of selecting the athletes, some of whom Weisman knew personally. Warhol took Polaroid photographs of each athlete holding equipment identifying his specialty. These were printed into 40-by-40-inch silkscreens on canvas and hand-painted by Warhol. Each is unique. "These are powerful images, and I think they'll end up overshadowing the others, such as the Marilyns and the Maos," Weisman said. "I like taking them places that don't have as many opportunities to see such works as New York and Los Angeles," he added. "It's especially gratifying to bring them to Oregon because my mother was born in Portland. Aand Oregon is the birthplace for a lot of sports — it's a great area for this series." Weisman's 12-year-old son is already eager to continue the family tradition of art collecting started by his grandmother, one of the founders of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Weisman, who started his own extensive collection with a painting by Matta in 1961, said he always collected by sight, not by name. He bought young and upcoming artists, pieces he liked rather than art he thought would go up in value — though many of the works he bought did. And he's always paid relatively little money for each piece. Weisman believes that anyone can collect art. "When I talk to people, I tell them the only thing to worry about is what can you afford and whether you like it. That's what collecting is about. I didn't worry about making an investment when I bought my Warhols. People then thought I was buying cartoons," he said. "You have to find your own price range," Wiseman counseled. "There are thousands of artists in fairs hoping someone will come by and buy their paintings for $50, and take it home and look at it. And that's going to be so much fun, like getting a child. There's nothing to this, all you have to do is know what you like." To entice more people to go to museums and support artists by buying art, Weisman suggests getting art-collecting athletes to talk about their enjoyment of art. Museum members not only get to preview the art on Friday, but also to attend a reception, during which Weisman will talk about his experiences with Warhol and about art collecting. He will also sign his recent book, Picasso to Pop (2002), which includes 120 illustrations from his collection.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
