Andy Warhol may be best known for Campbell’s soup cans and
silk-screened Marilyn Monroe portraits, but his ample body of work
still pales in comparison to the cult of personality he engendered. A
trailblazer in pop art, Warhol was also an experimental filmmaker,
Velvet Underground financier, and man-about-town who cavorted with
fashion models, rock stars, Hollywood celebrities, members of the New
York City intelligentsia, and all variety of wayward, drug-addled
hipsters and drifters. In 1962 he opened the Factory, a warehouse
studio that became a hang-out for his boho entourage, most of whom
contributed to Warhol’s cottage industry of silk-screen prints and
underground films. The place was legendary, not for its weird artistic
products and bizarre assortment of people (such as Edie Sedgwick,
Truman Capote, Lou Reed, Bobby Driscoll, and drag queens), but for its
furnishings — i.e., the famous red couch and disco ball coffee
table. The Factory building no longer exists, but its interior decor
— immortalized in roughly seventy films minted between 1962 and
1968 — remains iconic.
On Friday, Mar. 6, the East Bay Express will transform its
Emeryville warehouse (1343 Powell St.) into a replica of
Warhol’s Factory, complete with a custom-built red couch and retro
coffee table (our version, painstakingly handcrafted by Oakland artist
and Express staffer Terry Furry, has about 2,000 tiny glittering
mirrors). Coinciding with the Warhol Live exhibit at the de
Young Museum, this aptly named Factory Party will include two
Velvet Underground tribute bands; a nine-room exhibition of art by
Amoeba record store employees and local artists Lori Katz and Billy
Sprague; live graffiti murals sponsored by Montana Cans; beats by
Russell Quan, Ken Kabala, DJ Deathboy, and Inti; and a conceptual
exhibit by OFFspace, which imagines what Warhol’s new art would look
like were the man still alive.
Wait, there’s more. We’ll deck the warehouse walls with simulacra of
several Warhol paintings, including the famous Coca Cola bottle
silkscreen, plus portraits of past and current pop culture icons. Some
contributing artists will silk-screen during the event, while others
will shoot live screen tests. Warhol character impersonators will
shamble through the warehouse to create the illusion of authenticity.
Bring a can of Cambell’s soup for the Alameda County Food Bank, dress
in your flyest 1960s attire, and enter to win special goodies.
Admission is free, though we do request a $10 donation ($5 for
students) (proceeds benefit Pro Arts). 6-11 p.m. EastBayExpress.com/elerts
