The Andy Warhol Museum is using a traveling exhibition to connect students in Pittsburgh with students in Asia in a way that museum officials feel Warhol himself would have approved. The retrospective “Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal” is spending two years visiting five different cities and the museum is linking students in each of the host cities with students at Pittsburgh’s High School for Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA).
“They’re sending artworks and writings and ziens back and forth to each other to try and explore their shared experiences,” said Warhol Museum Education Curator Tresa Varner. The works focus on the themes of love, beauty, work and time.
CAPA students created a Warhol-inspired time capsule which was sent with the exhibition to its first stop in Singapore. “[Warhol] made time capsules starting in the late 60’s and all the way up until he died in 1987,” said Varner. “So there are over 600 time capsules in the museum.”
When the students in Singapore opened the box, they did it on a videoconference with the CAPA students. They then created their own time capsule and sent it off to the CAPA students for another videoconference opening.
The exhibition has moved on to Hong Kong where the process is being duplicated. From there it travels to Shanghai, Beijing and Tokyo where there will be additional student exchanges.
Varner said it is unclear what will ultimately happen to all of the items created for the “Collecting Youth Culture” project but she notes the museum is currently in the process of cataloging all of Warhol’s time capsules.
“It’s amazing how much you can fit in one box. Warhol fit hundreds of items in one box and these kids are definitely following in his footsteps,” said Varner.
