SPRING 1964: MOST WANTED MEN AT THE WORLD'S FAIR.
Andy Warhol's Thirteen Most Wanted Men is displayed on the side of the New York State Pavilion at the 1964 Worlds Fair in Flushing Meadow.
The architect who designed the Pavilion was Philip Johnson. He invited various artists, including Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Indiana, John Chamberlain and Andy Warhol to create art for the exterior of the building. (DB181/4)
However, there were objections to Warhol's work from government officials. On April 16, Philip Johnson told Warhol that he had 24 hours to replace or remove the "most wanted men" mural as the governor thought it might be insulting to his Italian constituents because most of the "wanted men" were Italians. (LD198)
Warhol blamed Robert Moses, the city's planner and president of the 1964-65 World's Fair. Warhol proceeded to silkscreen twenty-five identical portraits "of a ferociously smiling Moses" to use as a substitute for the "most wanted men". Philip Johnson rejected the idea, not wishing to offend the festival's president.
Eventually, the "most wanted men" panels remained in place but were covered with a coat of silver paint. (DB181-4)
Although Warhol's mural is often referred to as the Thirteen Most Wanted Men, he referred to it as the Ten Most Wanted Men in his book, Popism.
Andy Warhol: "The World's Fair was out in Flushing Meadow that summer with my mural of the Ten Most Wanted Men on the outside of the building that Philip Johnson designed. Philip gave me the assignment, but because of some political thing I never understood, the officials had it whitewashed out. A bunch of us went out to Flushing Meadow to have a look at it, but by the time we got there you could only see the images faintly coming through the paint they'd just put over them.
In one way I was glad the mural was gone: now I wouldn't have to feel responsible if one of the criminals ever got turned in to t he FBI because someone had recognized him from my pictures... But since I had the Ten Most Wanted screens already made up, I decided to go ahead and do paintings of them anyway. (The ten certainly weren't going to get caught from the kind of exposure they'd get at the Factory)." (POP71-2)
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- bill 2-03-2005 8:12 pm
Andy Warhol: "The World's Fair was out in Flushing Meadow that summer with my mural of the Ten Most Wanted Men on the outside of the building that Philip Johnson designed. Philip gave me the assignment, but because of some political thing I never understood, the officials had it whitewashed out. A bunch of us went out to Flushing Meadow to have a look at it, but by the time we got there you could only see the images faintly coming through the paint they'd just put over them.
In one way I was glad the mural was gone: now I wouldn't have to feel responsible if one of the criminals ever got turned in to t he FBI because someone had recognized him from my pictures... But since I had the Ten Most Wanted screens already made up, I decided to go ahead and do paintings of them anyway. (The ten certainly weren't going to get caught from the kind of exposure they'd get at the Factory)." (POP71-2)
- bill 2-03-2005 8:32 pm [add a comment]