Press release for Jack Smith exhibition at The Andy Warhol Museum
(2/16/1998)
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Colleen Russell
Media Relations 412.237.8338
The Andy Warhol Museum Celebrates the Radical Work of Jack Smith
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, February 16, 1998 ... On March 21, 1998, The Andy Warhol Museum will open a comprehensive exhibition, Jack Smith: Flaming Creature, of edgy Lower-East-Side, New York artist, photographer, filmmaker and performer Jack Smith (1932-1989). The exhibition — the first retrospective of Smith's work — includes a wealth of rarely seen film, video and photographs, as well as costumes, props and set designs.
Jack Smith has inspired a range of admirers including Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Federico Fellini, Susan Sontag and John Waters. After he died in poverty of AIDS, three decades of his film and props were rescued. These considerable archives are the principal source for the exhibition which is organized by P.S.l, The Institute for Contemporary Art in New York.
Smith originally aspired to be a fashion photographer. His photographs include a cast of poets, drag queens, beatniks and others who became his "superstars" — some of whom later became Warhol Superstars. Smith's superstars are dressed in eclectic thrift-store costumes posing in strange positions. These photographic experiments were translated to film and performance projects.
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CARNEGIE MUSEUMS OF PITTSBURGH
Carnegie Museum of Art
Carnegie Museum of Natural History Carnegie Music Hall
The Andy Warhol Museum
4400 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4080
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4080
4400 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4080
One Allegheny Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15212-5850
11 7 Sandusky Street Pittsburgh, PA 15212-5890
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Through his use of extravagant subject matter, focus on sound and performance, use of found and dated film and natural lighting, Smith became a leader in underground cinema and performance. His best-known film, Flaming Creatures (1963), involves a bunch of exotic characters in outrageous scenes that blasts the bounds of what was considered possible in commercial moviemaking.
"Why are people horrified that I have human characteristics?"
- Jack Smith
Screened in conjunction with the Jack Smith: Flaming Creature exhibition, are eight film programs titled Jack Smith and His Secret Flix. The film program will include all existing newly-restored Jack Smith films, as well as films starring Smith, films influenced by Smith, films made by Smith's contemporaries, and many of Smith's favorite movies.
Film Schedule:
All screenings Fridays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
March 27 & 29
Blonde Cobra (1958-63) 33mins.
Directed by Ken Jacobs & Bob Fleischner.
Flaming Creatures (1963) 42mins.
April 3 & 5
Normal Love (1963) 105mins.
Normal Love addendum reel (1963) 20mins.
April 10 & 12
No President (1967-69) 60mins.
Song For Rent (1970's) 5mins.
Reefers of Technicolor Island (1967) 15mins.
April 11, Saturday 7:30 p.m.
Jerry Tartaglia (Jack Smith film restorationist) in person presents Wino, Buzzards Over Bagdad, and other rare Jack Smith movies.
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April 17 & 19
Overstimulated (1960-63) lOmins.
Scotch Tape (1959) 3mins.
Respectable Creatures (1966) 35mins.
Bowery Dawn (1970' s) 20mins.
Hot Air Specialists (1970's) 4mins.
The Death of P'Town (1961) 7mins. Directed by Ken Jacobs.
Saturday Afternoon Blood Sacrifice (1957) 4mins. Directed by Ken Jacobs.
Little Cobra Dance (1957) 4mins. Directed by Ken Jacobs.
Little Stabs at Happiness (1958-60) 15mins. Directed by Ken Jacobs.
Star Spangled to Death (excerpts) (1958-60) 20mins. Directed by Ken Jacobs.
April 24 & 26
Paperdolls (1962) 41/2mins. Directed by Richard Preston.
Chumlum (1964) 26mins. Directed by Ron Rice.
Avocada (1966) 37mins. Directed by Bill Vehr.
May 1 & 3
The Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom Man (1963/82) 109mins. Directed by Ron Rice.
May 8 & 10
What's Underground About Marshmallows? Ron Vawter Performs Jack Smith (1995) 60mins. Directed by Jill Godmillow A Performance by Jack Smith (1992) 5mins. Directed by Midi Onodera.
OPENING EVENT:
Join us at the opening event for our two new exhibitions:
Harold Stevenson: The New Adam & Jack Smith: Flaming Creature March 21 at The Andy Warhol Museum.
6 p.m. lecture by Ed Leffingwell, curator of Jack Smith: Flaming Creature
7-9 p.m. hors d'oeuvres and cocktail reception featuring 15 min +, a program of diverse artists presenting their work for brief interludes of 15 minutes or more. Featured artists, whose work evokes Jack Smith's idea of the "Theater of Everyday Life," including the underground theatre of Skin & Bone Collective, Cheryl Capazutti puppeteer extraordinaire and eight area artists displaying their wearables.
Tickets: $20 non-members/$15 members & students
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Following its installation at The Andy Warhol Museum, Jack Smith Flaming Creature travels to Kunstwerke Berlin and the Berkeley Art Museum.
Call 412.237.8300 for information.
The Andy Warhol Museum, located at 117 Sandusky Street on Pittsburgh's North Side, is open Wednesday and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., and is closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and legal holidays. Admission is free for members, $6 for adults, $5 for senior citizens, and $4 for children and students.
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