Andy Warhol: Shadows at MOCA

On Monday I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art to view the "Andy Warhol: Shadows" exhibit and others contemporary works of art from the MOCA collection

The exhibit description states that in 1978-79 Andy Warhol produced "Shadows" which in this exhibit consists of 102 six foot by more than 4 foot canvases mounted edge to edge and a foot off the floor.  (The number of panels used in an exhibit of "Shadows" depends on the space available.)  This gives a striking appearance when you walk in to the multi-room gallery.  I sat on a bench and just took it all in, enjoying the colors which range from an electric green to a somber brown.

These were produced in Warhol's studio in New York called "The Factory."  The name is appropriate as his repetitive productions must have seemed like a factory when all the workers were painting and silk screening under Warhol's direction.  The canvases were painted with the bight colors using a floor mop leaving the mop marks on the canvases.  The design was based on photographs of shadows taken in "The Factory."  The description states:  "It remains one of his most mysterious works, seemingly empty and full, fast and slow, light and dark at the same time."

I then roamed through art works from the MOCA permanent collection.  Here are a few of what I saw.

"Gabriel," 2002 by John Sonsini, b. 1950, Rome, New York; lives and works in Los Angeles.

"Reciprocal Relation," Per I, II, III, IV, 1969 by Alfred Jensen, b. 1903 Guatemala, d. 1981, New Jersey.
Oil on canvas. 

"Tree Puppies," 1992 by Jeff Koons, b. 1955 Pennsylvania; lives and works in New York City.
Polychromed wood.

"Telephone," 1961 by Andy Warhol, b. 1928 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; d. 1987 New York.
Acrylic and pencil on canvas.

"Map," 1952 by Jasper Johns, b. 1930, Augusta, Georgia; lives and works in Sharon, Connecticut.
Encaustic and collage on canvas.

"Interview," 1955 by Robert Rauschenberg, b. 1925, Port Arthur, Texas; d. 2008, Captive Island, Florida.
Oil, found painting, found drawing, lace, wood, envelope, found letter, fabric, photographs, printed reproductions, toweling, and newspaper on wood structure with brick, string, fork, softball, nail, metal hinges, and wood door.

"Betrothal I," 1947 by Arshile Gorky, b. 1905, Khorkom, Armenia; d. 1948, Sherman, Connecticut.
Oil on paper.
"I don't like the work "finish."  When something is finished, that means it's dead, doesn't it?...The thing to do is always to keep starting to paint, never finish a painting."  Arshile Gorky

"Tall Figure II, Tall Figure III," 1950 by Alberto Giacometti, b. 1901, Borgonovo, Switzerland; d. 1966, Chur, Switzerland.
Bronze.  "Waht is important is to create an object capable of conveying the sensation as close as possible to the one felt at the sight of the subject."  Alberto Giacometti