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THE WARHOL COMMEMORATES THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE JFK ASSASSINATION
WITH A
SPECIAL EXHIBITION, NOVEMBER 22, 1963: IMAGE, MEMORY, MYTH

(Pittsburgh, PA) . . . October 6, 2003... To coincide with the 40th
anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, The Andy
Warhol Museum will present the exhibition, November 22, 1963: Image,
Memory,
Myth from November 22, 2003 through March 21, 2004. Organized in
collaboration with The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas,
Texas,
the exhibition presents the events surrounding the Kennedy
assassination and
the myth of the JFK era through hundreds of photographs, dozens of
examples
of broadcast and print media coverage, home movies, eyewitness
testimonies,
evidence, investigative committees' reports, and ensuing conspiracy
theories. From the unforgettable photograph of a young John F. Kennedy
Jr.
saluting his father's casket, to the grainy stills of the infamous
Zapruder
film, images of the assassination have left an indelible mark on
America's
shared memory. Through the interpretations of journalists, historians
and
artists including Andy Warhol, the exhibition examines how the power
and
drama of those images have shaped our understanding of the event and
its
impact.

On view throughout The Warhol's sixth and seventh floor galleries,
November
22, 1963: Image, Memory, Myth will open with a brief look at the
Kennedy
era. The exhibition will then delve into a presentation of the events
of the
assassination as they unfolded in Dallas. Well-known news photographs
depict
JFK and a smiling Jackie Kennedy deplaning from Air Force One at
Dallas'
Love Field, police officers taking their places and excited bystanders
awaiting the presidential motorcade on Elm Street. The photographs will
also
depict the panicked crowds, confused reporters and the shock, fear and
sorrow of the nation as it learned that JFK had been shot. Video
monitors in
the exhibition space will feature selections from the unprecedented and
nearly constant television coverage of the tragic event * from network
reports to extensive, never-before-exhibited coverage from local Dallas
stations.
 
Documents from federal investigations into the JFK assassination, the
evidence that fueled them, and the ensuing conspiracy theories, will
also be
included in the exhibition. Several home movies, including footage by
Orville Nix and the infamous Zapruder film, will be screened in the
gallery
space. Copies of the Warren Commission report, charts depicting the
path of
the "magic bullet" and large-scale photographic reproductions of the
crime
scene will invite visitors to draw their own conclusions about one of
the
most debated investigations of the twentieth century.
Visitors will also be encouraged to explore the concept of memory,
particularly "flash bulb" memories * deep, vivid experiences of highly
emotional events such as the JFK assassination. A compilation video of
oral
histories of the event, prepared by The Sixth Floor Museum, will be on
view
together with other personal stories and quotes drawn from those who
remember the assassination.

According to Thomas Sokolowski, director of The Warhol and curator of
the
exhibition, "The JFK assassination is one of the few historical events
that
spurs immediate, vivid and personal memories among the Americans who
experienced it. Four decades later, there are now several generations
who
did not live through that event. With this exhibition we want to look
at
what images and elements from the assassination live on and how the
memories
of those who were alive in 1963 shape the understanding of those who
were
not."

Several galleries will continue to explore memory through artist
interpretations of the JFK assassination. Andy Warhol created two
bodies of
work related to event: a 1964 series of portraits of Jacqueline Bouvier
Kennedy, and the print portfolios known as Flash-November 22, 1963. 

Shortly after the assassination in 1963, Warhol set for himself the
task of
creating hundreds of small portraits of Jackie Kennedy as the grieving
widow. Already the spin-doctor for every product, person and issue that
dominated the 1960s, Warhol appreciated Jackie's ability to use
stagecraft
and iconography in order to assure her husband's legacy and craft a
presidential myth so idealized that it was called Camelot. More than 50
paintings in the Jackie series, from the collection of The Warhol, will
be
on view in order to illustrate how Jackie Kennedy became the embodiment
of
the nation's sorrow and an icon in Warhol's oeuvre. Also on view in the
exhibition will be two portfolios from Flash-November 22, 1963, a
rarely-seen series of 11 screenprints with text that replicates news
wire
copy. The Flash series is an examination of the events of the
assassination
and its aftermath filtered through Warhol's observations of the
continuous
barrage of media coverage.

Contemporary artists also continue to use the assassination and its
memorable images as inspiration for their work. One such artist
represented
in the exhibition will be the Serbian-born Zoran Naskovski. In his
acclaimed
video piece, Death in Dallas, Naskovski pairs footage of JFK's life and
assassination with a Balkan ballad about tragedy.


The Andy Warhol Museum receives state arts funding support through a
grant
from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a
federal agency. The 2003 exhibition program has been supported, in
part, by
The Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, Inc.

Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the place of Andy Warhol's birth,
The
Warhol is one of the most comprehensive single-artist museums in the
world.
The Andy Warhol Museum is one of the four Carnegie Museums of
Pittsburgh.
Additional information about The Warhol is available at www.warhol.org
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Phone:  412.237.8300
Hours: Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sat, and Sun 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Fri, 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Mon closed
Admission: Members - free
Good Fridays - 5-10 p.m.
Adults - $8, Sr. Citizens - $7, Children/Students - $4
The Warhol Store/The Warhol Café - free




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the warhol:
Gina Frey
Communications Associate
117 Sandusky Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
T 412.237.8339
F 412.237.8340
E freyg@warhol.org
W www.warhol.org
W www.warholstore.com
The Andy Warhol Museum
One of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
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