“Sweet” isn’t usually the word that springs to mind when thinking of the work of Andy Warhol. Eccentric, cranky, obsessed, maybe. But sweet? Well, why not? An exhibit at Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury is a nice digression from the Warhol template. “Love, Andy” is a charming look at Warhol’s love of animals and a peek at his early career as an illustrator, when he was fond of drawing cupids, hearts and loving couples.
Warhol loved pets and had several in his lifetime. He loved his friends and his mom. The exhibit opens with a collection of ink-on-paper drawings by Julia Warhola, who signs her works “Andy Warhol’s mother.” Photos taken by Warhol show Warhol’s friends — Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cornelia Guest, Bridget Berlin, etc. — with their favorite animals. Other photographers contributed images of Warhol’s friends.
The heart of the show is 15 screenprint paintings of dogs and cats. Some animals belonged to Warhol, like his beloved dachshund, who is seen gazing with steady devotion out of a canvas. Some belonged to friends. Some were photographed alive, some taxidermied. The color schemes are instantly recognizable as Warhol, as are the manipulations of the photographs that the works are based on. Those source photos also are shown.
Instead of the socialites and celebrities that Warhol is best known for, this gallery is the realm of Afghan hounds, regal Great Danes, a cute Westie, a relaxed cocker spaniel, a boxer, a Balinese cat, a scraggly looking Brussels Griffon, a winsome white kitty.
Another element of the show that might otherwise never be recognized as a Warhol are a wall filled with ink-on-paper drawings of various random subjects: fairies with wings, birds carrying hearts, valentines, cherubs, flirtatious cupids, snuggling sweethearts.
Twenty-four illustrations from a 1953 book, “Love is a Pink Cake,” by “Corkie & Andy,” are featured. Corkie was Ralph Thomas Ward, who wrote doggerel about historical figures, both real and fictional, that was illustrated by Warhol. Warhol’s drawings are engaging, but the real appeal of the series is Ward’s little ditties, which deconstruct the historical personages in ways that are always cheeky:
“Eurydice loved Orpheus, and when she died he raised a fuss. He played his harp and went to hell. It didn’t work out very well.”
“Romeo loved Juliet, but neither one could long forget, to live alone is not much fun when two can die as cheap as one.”
‘The Illumination Show’
Two smaller exhibits currently at the Mattatuck couldn’t be more different. One is a show of text-based works in neon. The other shows works using more traditional art materials. But both have in common the theme of people getting inspiration from others.
Lauren Booth was in a theater years ago seeing a movie produced by Imagine Entertainment. As the word “Imagine” flashed onto the screen, Booth had a brainstorm: Wouldn’t it have been cool to get John Lennon to say that to her, and then re-create the word in neon?
Booth started writing to famous people who inspired her, to ask them what word or words they might use as personal motivation. “We all have messages we repeat to ourselves. I was curious, ‘What does the Dalai Lama repeat to himself?’ ‘What is Bono’s mantra?'” she said.
“The Illumination Show” is the result. From 2006 to 2009, Booth contacted inspirational people and got responses from 18. She re-created their mantras in neon. Some are mounted on dark backgrounds, others in reflective “infinity boxes.” They are hung in a dark, funhouse-style gallery.
It turns out that Bono’s mantra is “Coexist.” The Dalai Lama’s is “Interdependence.” Oprah Winfrey’s is “Blessings.” Spiritual guru Thich Nhat Hanh’s is “Peace in every step.” Warren Buffett’s is “Margin of safety.” Paul McCartney’s is “Arise.” Actually, that’s just part of McCartney’s.
“He wrote, ‘You were only waiting for this moment to arise,'” she said, quoting lyrics from the song “Blackbird.” “He underlined ‘arise,’ so I used it.”
Some of Booth’s “inspirational” figures might raise eyebrows. Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong is there. So is Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose marriage hit the rocks when an extramarital affair was revealed. So is widely reviled media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Booth, who finished the “Illumination Show” work six years ago, explains.
“Life does change. I think it was Warren Buffett who said something like, ‘It takes a lifetime to build a reputation and a moment to ruin it.’ Those people are indicative of that,” she said. “They still go on. Life is complicated. We are all human.”
‘Yves Tanguy’
“Yves Tanguy: Surrealist Painter/Country Gentleman,” an exhibit of work by the famed Surrealist and his friends, hangs in the other first-floor gallery across the lobby from “The Illumination Show.” The exhibit shows work by Tanguy and his wife, Kay Sage, as well as Alexander Calder, Naum Gabo, Peter Blume, Kurt Seligmann and others who gathered around Tanguy and Sage, who lived in Woodbury. The artists shared their work, discussed art and bounced ideas off each other.
The exhibit also tells a story of European artists displaced by war. Tanguy moved to America as war was breaking out, as did his fellow Frenchman André Masson, who settled in New Preston, and German Jew Hans Richter, who settled in Southbury.
The show might be named after Tanguy but the star is Sage. The most intriguing painting on the walls shows her signature architectural themes accompanied by a robed figure, and a “peep show” that she made for Tanguy’s birthday is a clever visual puzzle. Tanguy’s most memorable work in the show is a construction called “Boxing Matches,” a little boxing ring whose battlers are made of matchsticks.
“LOVE ANDY: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ANDY WARHOL MUSEUM” will be at the Mattatuck Museum, 144 W. Main St. in Waterbury, until Feb. 7. “Yves Tanguy” and “The Illumination Show” will be up until Jan. 17. mattatuckmuseum.org.
