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Neke Carson: Eyeball Portraits and Beyond + Neke Paints Andy '72

March 14 - June 1

 

These two exhibitions highlight the portrait work of American Dadaist Neke Carson. Over the years, while using a variety of techniques, Carson has created portraits of some of his favorite people such as Andy Warhol, Desi Arnaz, and Fred Flintstone. In 2007 he began a series of eyeball portraits with just the eyes as the focal point of the sitting. Color and other elements began to creep into the digital photographs and soon he moved well beyond his original premise. The twelve large-scale photographs in Eyeball Portraits and Beyond showcase the results. (right: Neke Carson, Boot with Driver 50" x 36" Digital photograph 2007)

In addition, the archival exhibition Neke Paints Andy '72 gathers together for the first time material chronicling the creation of Carson's 1972 painting, Portrait of Andy Warhol. Warhol's Polaroids (which he later compiled into his Red Book no.129) and the video diary shot during the session at the Factory will complement Carson's original painting. The painting was stolen in 1979 but eventually recovered and since then Carson has kept it under lock and key. This will be the first time in over 28 years that it has been shown publicly.

 

Text panels from the exhibitions

This two-part exhibition presents the most recent photographic work of American Dadaist Neke Carson along with his infamous "Rectal Realist" portrait of Andy Warhol. Throughout his life Carson has been many things including a kinetic sculptor, fashion photographer and critic, performance artist, nightclub owner, apprentice horse jockey, new wave modeling agent, "Heavy Mellow" pianist, as well as a painter. His work, whether through its content, materials or execution, is consistently imbued with a sense of brilliant, subtle humor.

The twelve large-scale digital photographs that make up Eyeball Portraits and Beyond reveal his love of the peripheral and the sublime. A project that began simply as an attempt to capture the souls of his subjects grew into something more intangible yet universal (or hermetic, depending on how one looks at it). Carson began to see windows to the soul everywhere -- in a pot of boiling water, the pages of a favorite book, the folds of a leaf, the handle of a Craftsman screwdriver, the eyes of Edie Sedgwick's stuffed toy swan. Unfortunately, wall space was limited.

The archival portion of the exhibition, Neke Paints Andy '72, gathers together for the first time material chronicling the creation of Carson's 1972 painting, Portrait of Andy Warhol. The Polaroids that Warhol took as he sat for his portrait at the Factory (and later used in his Red Book no. 129) and the video diary that was shot during the session, both of which expose Carson's unique technique, are on view. Lastly, Anton Perich's color photographs of the event capture Carson and Warhol at play and give us a slightly nostalgic feeling of almost having been there ourselves.

- Greg Pierce, Assistant Curator of Film and Video

Neke Carson would like to acknowledge the kind support of Suzanne Tremblay & The Gershwin Hotel, (New York City) [+ logo], Nesenkeag Farm (Litchfield, NH) and Bruce Helander (West Palm Beach, FL).

The Andy Warhol Museum receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency and The Heinz

Endowments. Further support is provided by the Allegheny Regional Asset District.

Neke Carson's Portrait of Andy Warhol: the history behind the painting

In 1972, during the heyday of body and performance art, Neke Carson asked Andy Warhol if he could paint his portrait. Carson explained he had devised a new way of painting, which he called "Rectal Realism". This method required the artist to insert rubber tipped felt magic markers and paintbrushes in his rectum and bend over his canvas in order to sketch and paint. Warhol liked the idea.

On the appointed day Carson arrived at the Factory and set up his canvas and tools. Warhol was also getting set up. He had a three man video crew that included Vincent Fremont and Glenn O'Brien. Two cameras and a live mixing board were used to record the event.

Interview's Bob Colacello was there covering the session. Factory assistant Ronnie Cutrone was taking stills along with artist Anton Perich. Warhol himself was seated and recording the event with his Polaroid camera. Warhol sat for quite some time, talking with the artist and the people who had gathered to witness the event. Carson was hard at work toiling over his canvas and ended up with a very good likeness of his subject. The series of portraits (including Warhol's and Fred Flintstone's) were exhibited in Carson's first one-man show at the LoGuidice Gallery in Soho in the spring of 1973.

In the fall of 1979 Carson was asked to participate in a "Punk Art" show organized by curator Marc Miller for the WPA Gallery in Washington, D.C. Carson's contribution to the show was his "Rectal Realist" portrait of Warhol. Sometime during the run of the exhibition, the painting was stolen. The organizers of the show put out bulletins on all the local radio stations asking for the return of this one-of-a-kind portrait. After two weeks contact was made with someone purporting to have the painting. It was then the police got involved and suggested setting up a contact place in a nearby park at which time they would jump the perpetrator. Carson nixed this idea fearing the painting would somehow be damaged during the encounter.

Eventually the gallery manager convinced the perpetrator to just come in and surrender the painting and no charges would be filed. The culprit turned out to be a young punk who lived with his parents. He had taken the stolen painting home and hung it over his bed. Carson traveled to Washington, DC and met with the young man. He retrieved his painting and gave the man a smaller version of the portrait he had created by hand. Since then the original portrait has been kept under lock and key.

In 2005 the Pace/MacGill Gallery mounted a show titled "Andy Warhol: Red Books". It was a collection of Polaroids that Warhol had taken over the years of such notables as Mick Jagger, Peter Beard, Brigid Berlin and Larry Rivers among others. Included in the exhibition was a Red Book devoted to the session of Carson painting Warhol's portrait the afternoon of September 26, 1972.

The Andy Warhol Museum is proud to be exhibiting Neke Carson's Portrait of Andy Warhol for the first time in over 28 years.

 

(above: Neke Carson, Portrait of Andy Warhol, 24" x 20" Acrylic on canvas 1972)

 

(above: Neke Carson, Edie's Swan, 50" x 36" Digital photograph 2007)

 

List of Artwork for the exhibition Neke Carson: Eyeball Portraits and Beyond plus Neke Paints Andy '72

Neke Carson

1. Portrait of Charlotte Barnard Sawyer, 50" x 36" Digital photograph 2007

2. Boot with Driver, 50" x 36" Digital photograph 2007

3. Father, Daughter, Dog, 50" x 36" Digital photograph 2007

4. Portrait of Robert Sawyer and Gregorio Homs, 50" x 36" Digital photograph 2007

5. Edie's Swan, 50" x 36" Digital photograph 2007

6. The Leaf, 50" x 36" Digital photograph 2007

7. Portrait of Paul Fisher, 50" x 36" Digital photograph 2007

8. Boiling Plaid, 50" x 36" Digital photograph 2007

9. The Sink, 50" x 36" Digital photograph 2007

10. The Vice Chancellor's Ring, 50" x 36" Digital photograph 2007

11. Walk crossing, 50" x 36" Digital photograph 2007

12. You and ,I 50" x 36" Digital photograph 2007

13. Portrait of Andy Warhol, 24" x 20" Acrylic on canvas 1972

 

Andy Warhol

14. Factory Diary: Neke Carson Paints Andy, September 26, 1972, _", reel-to-reel videotape, black and white, sound, 31 minutes, 1972

15. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

16. Blank Canvas, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

17. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

18. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

19. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

20. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

21. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

22. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

23. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

24. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

25. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

26. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

27. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

28. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

29. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

30. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

31. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

32. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

33. Neke Carson's Portrait of Andy Warhol, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

34. Neke Carson, 4" x 3" Polacolor Type 108, 1972

 

Anton Perich

35. Andy Warhol, Neke Carson, Factory 1972, 20" x 24" Ink jet print 2008

36. Neke Carson Painting Andy, Factory 1972, 20" x 24" Ink jet print 2008

37. Andy Warhol Sitting for Neke Carson, Factory 1972, 20" x 24" Ink jet print 2008

38. Andy's Polaroids of Neke, Factory 1972, 20" x 24" Ink jet print 2008


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