Happy 90th, Andy Warhol!
A Summer Birthday
Thurs, Aug 9, 2018
7:30–11 pm
All members
Celebrate one of the most inventive and influential American artists—Andy Warhol (1928–1987). This summer bash marks the ninetieth anniversary of the artist’s birth, in anticipation of the upcoming Andy Warhol retrospective, opening November 2018. Festive attire is encouraged; to quote Warhol’s 1975 book of wry tongue-in-cheek observations The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again), “If everybody’s not a beauty, then nobody is…”
The birthday party is happening concurrently with Member Night, the Whitney’s signature member event.
All members are invited to this event. The invitation is for two individuals per membership household. Members at the Dual level and above are welcome to arrive at 7 pm for early admission.
To join, call (212) 570-3641 or become a member online.
EVENT SCHEDULE
Songs for Andy: DJ Set by Hesta Prynn
Floor 1, Griffin Hall
8:30–10:30 pm
Chill, groove, and show off your best dance moves during a set by DJ Hesta Prynn inspired by Andy Warhol’s love for and enduring influence on music! Lou Reed, Mick Jagger, Liza Minelli, Aretha Franklin, Debbie Harry—these are just a few of the many musicians whose careers intersected with Warhol’s. Famously, Warhol managed The Velvet Underground, but he also created album covers for dozens of records and depicted iconic performers in many of his paintings. For a taste, check out this playlist on Spotify.
The Machinery is Always Going: A Pop-up by Kayrock Screenprinting
Floor 1, Griffin Hall
7:30–10:30 pm
Warhol used silk screening extensively from the 1960s through the 1980s, importing technology-based, commercial image-making techniques into the realm of art. We’ll be customizing canvas bags with incisive quotes from The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again) all night. Stop by to see the process firsthand and grab a free bag–first come, first served!
Swish, Sketch, Drag: A Warhol-inspired Life Drawing Salon
Floor 3, Susan and John Hess Family Theater
7:30–10:30 pm
Join us for a life drawing class with models who are all performers in New York’s queer nightlife scene. Before Warhol’s breakout as a pop star, he produced hundreds of drawings, some private and some meant for public consumption. A group of chic pen and ink drawings from the 1950s depicting friends vamping in drag provides a unique view in the semiprivate, pre-Stonewall queer milieu, and demonstrate Warhol’s sensitive understanding of self-fashioning, of self as performance. Drop in a draw for a few minutes–or longer–and stick around for surprise performances!
Instructor:
Jacqueline Cedar is a visual artist and educator based in New York.
Models:
Daphne Always is a trans chanteuse who works in cabaret, film, and television; she is a resident hostess at Alan Cumming's East Village lounge Club Cumming.
Wo Chan aka Pearl Harbor is a nonbinary poet and drag performer and a standing member of the Brooklyn-based burlesque/drag collective Switch n' Play.
Elle Emenopé is a glam-rock dandy based in Brooklyn who views gender not only as a spectrum but as a fabulous playground in which to find individuality.
Miz Jade is drag performance artist who is fierce and full of surprises. A Brooklyn-based queen known for her teaching, activism, and wit, she's bound to turn the party.
Originally from the Texas-Mexico frontera, Lady Quesa'Dilla Rodríguez aka Alejandro Rodríguez is a drag queen and community organizer working, in his words, at the intersection of chusmeria y jotería.
EXHIBITIONS, TALKS, AND SEMINARS
Wander through the exhibitions, or catch a short tour led by a Whitney teaching fellow! Galleries will be open until 10 pm.
Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection
Floor 7
Tours at 7:15, 7:45, 8:30, and 9 pm
David Wojnarowicz: History Keeps Me Awake at Night
Floor 5
Tours at 7:15, 7:45, 8:30, and 9 pm
Pacha, Llaqta, Wasichay: Indigenous Space, Modern Architecture, New Art
Floor 5
Tours at 7:15, 7:45, 8:30, and 9 pm
Critical Looking Seminar: Memory and Territory
Floor 3, Seminar Room
7:30, 8:15, 9 pm
How does memory—individual and collective—take on material form in art? Who and what is remembered or forgotten and in what locations or spaces? Teaching fellow Ayanna Dozier will explore these questions using works from the current exhibitions as touchstones.
MIX, MINGLE, DRINK, AND DINE
Cash Bars
Floors 1 and 3
Cash bars serving wine and beer will be open until 10:45 pm.
Studio Cafe Bar and Terrace
Floor 8
The Studio Cafe will be serving delicious drinks and shareable a-la-carte small plates until 9:30 pm.
Untitled
Floor 1
Still hungry? Untitled will be serving dinner all night—make a reservation.
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