Dark and Deadpan:
Pop in TV and the Movies
Nov 15, 2012–Mar 31, 2013
Sherman Price (active 1960s), still from The Imp-Probable Mr. Weegee, 1966. 35mm film transferred to high-definition video, color, sound; 75 min. Image courtesy Something Weird Video
From Andy Warhol's commercial for Schrafft's restaurants to Sherman Price's film The Imp-Probable Mr. Weegee, starring Weegee as a crazy photographer, footage of the moon landing, and George Kuchar's mock Hollywood melodrama HOLD ME WHILE I'M NAKED, this exhibition brings together rarely seen films, advertisements, and political campaign messages that reflect the extravagant yet deadpan excess of Pop. Together they reveal the central role played by television and cinema in articulating the excitement, anxiety, and desire underlying both Pop art and popular culture in the 1960s.
Dark and Deadpan is organized by Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Curator Chrissie Iles, and curator Jay Sanders.
Artworks
Ger Van Elk (b. 1941), still from The Well-Shaven Cactus, 1969. 16mm film transferred to video, black and white, sound; 1:31 minutes. Image courtesy the artist and GRIMM Gallery
Ger Van Elk (b. 1941), still from The Well-Shaven Cactus, 1969. 16mm film transferred to video, black and white, sound; 1:31 minutes. Image courtesy the artist and GRIMM Gallery
Sherman Price (active 1960s), still from The Imp-Probable Mr. Weegee, 1966. 35mm film transferred to high-definition video, color, sound; 75 min. Image courtesy Something Weird Video
George Kuchar (1942–2011), still from HOLD ME WHILE I’M NAKED, 1966. 16mm film transferred to video, color, sound; 17 min. Image courtesy the Estate of George Kuchar, © the Estate of George Kuchar
George Kuchar (1942–2011), still from HOLD ME WHILE I’M NAKED, 1966. 16mm film transferred to video, color, sound; 17 min. Image courtesy the Estate of George Kuchar, © the Estate of George Kuchar
George Kuchar (1942–2011), still from HOLD ME WHILE I’M NAKED, 1966. 16mm film transferred to video, color, sound; 17 min. Image courtesy the Estate of George Kuchar, © the Estate of George Kuchar
George Kuchar (1942–2011), still from HOLD ME WHILE I’M NAKED, 1966. 16mm film transferred to video, color, sound; 17 min. Image courtesy the Estate of George Kuchar, © the Estate of George Kuchar
Jørgen Leth (b. 1937) and Ole John (b. 1939), still from Burger New York from 66 Scenes from America, 1981. 16mm film transferred to video, color, sound; 4:25 minutes. Image courtesy Ole John, © Ole John
Installation Photography
Installation view of Dark and Deadpan (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 15, 2012–March 31, 2013). Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Dark and Deadpan (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 15, 2012–March 31, 2013). Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Dark and Deadpan (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 15, 2012–March 31, 2013). Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Dark and Deadpan (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 15, 2012–March 31, 2013). Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Explore works from this exhibition
in the Whitney's collection
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In the News
"Whitney Museum Showcases LBJ Campaign Advertisements, Godard’s Trailer for Breathless"
—The New York Observer
