10-piece set of<\/a> Warhol\u2019s colorful 1967 silkscreen prints of Monroe\u2019s face to Q Contemporary, an art space which focuses on art promotion rather than sales. Owner Motaz Kabbani finds a parallel in the representation between the presence of Warhol\u2019s work in Beirut in the midst of regional uncertainty and Warhol\u2019s Silver Factory days during the Vietnam War. In other words, there is comfort in celebrating humanity and art in times that seem anything but humane.<\/p>\n To celebrate the third anniversary of Q Contemporary, the art space invoked Warhol\u2019s famous Silver Factory with wall-to-wall tin-foil, Warhol\u2019s \u201creality\u201d films, a long couch, a DJ (Beirut\u2019s Jade) and black and white pictures from those infamous days. Even Edie Sedgwick, Warhol\u2019s longtime muse, was reproduced in the form of Q\u2019s art curator, Liv Baggan, who dressed the glamorous part. The Silver Factory (1962-1984), Warhol\u2019s New York City studio, was actually a space where his famous silkscreens were produced in large quantities with the help of artist friends. This was also the place where his radical films of he and his friends partaking in drug use and graphic sex were recorded. In addition to contemporary artists of the time, The Factory hosted the likes of Bob Dylan, Truman Capote, Salvador Dali, and Allen Ginsberg. Warhol\u2019s work and lifestyle were responses to the flourishing sexual revolution of the 60\u2019s, corporate America, and the iconization of celebrities.<\/p>\n
In contrast, Tuesday night\u2019s \u201cFactory\u201d opening had strict rules posted on the wall: \u201cNo Sex\u201d and \u201cNo Drugs\u201d and hosted a middle-aged silk-stocking crowd at 7 p.m., and a younger hip crowd after 9. While the decadent Warhol films showed, the most hedonistic activities were the huddled crowds outside smoking and the delectable tastes of Jai\u2019s catering. Six-hundred people showed up, which certainly was considered a success to the organizers who were thrilled to bring Warhol to Beirut for the first time, and what Baggan considers \u201cthe biggest thing\u201d Q has done. Nonetheless, opinions of the exhibit varied. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith all that\u2019s happening, they bring Warhol to Lebanon,\u201d one woman commented ironically.<\/p>\n
Others grinned happily for pictures in front of the art.<\/p>\n
Some people thought they looked like fakes.<\/p>\n
A famous Lebanese artist who was present claimed he was \u201copposite of everyone,\u201d balking at the absurdity of Warhol, who he claims to have met in New York City, as well as complaining about the work\u2019s exorbitant worth. <\/p>\n
When Beirut.com asked Javogue, who sold much of his beloved art years ago to purchase this set, which he claims are \u201chard to come by\u201d even in the collector\u2019s world, how much he paid for them, he shook his head. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter. I don\u2019t like to focus on how much they cost. They\u2019re worth more than money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Javogue and Kabbani have similar reasons for bringing Warhol\u2019s work to Beirut. The opportunity to share the art with what Javogue believes to be a society that is \u201ctrying hard in difficult times\u201d made Beirut a place he wanted to \u201cinspire\u201d with his collection. Whereas Kabbani strives for a transversal space where he wishes to attract diverse segments of society to appreciate art together \u2013 and bring \u201csolace\u201d in troubled times. <\/p>\n
But also, it was a matter of serendipity. Swiss bank Director Nabil Jean Sab, whose bank Compagnie Privee de Conseils et d\u2019Investessements S.A. sponsored the exhibit, was the liaison between Javogue and Kabbani, both longtime friends of his. He feels that that the exhibit \u201cfell into place\u201d and was meant to be. As for future exhibitions of the sort, he says \u201cInshallah\u2026 I prefer to spend my time promoting art in Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Warhol\u2019s images are recognizable anywhere, taken for granted. However, standing in front of this original collection hanging solely in this transportation of time and space, is powerful. Kabbani, who is Syrian, is aware of the contrast between the glamorous world that Warhol\u2019s work invokes and the bloody reality in the region. However, in the artwork, one may find the mutable shades of a pop icon, Monroe\u2019s humanity, made real in this inhuman representation. In a city renown for this dichotomy, it seems like a good fit. <\/p>\n
The exhibit, whose next stop is Mexico, will remain in Beirut until Saturday, November 24.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today\u2019s Beirut has room for Andy Warhol \u2013 and Marilyn Monroe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":458069,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_preview_accessed":0,"footnotes":""},"tags":[347],"media-embed-type":[],"class_list":["post-19779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-trending"],"authorship":[11],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/p>\n