Andy Warhol’s Jewish Geniuses

Overview

When Andy Warhol's Jewish Geniuses exhibition was first shown in 1980, people got pretty mad. Though his trademark pop art style was well known by then, critics just couldn't deal with it being used to depict important intellectuals and Jewish luminaries. A critic from The New York Times labelled the show "tawdry" and "offensive". Now, for the first time ever, this beautiful tacky mess is coming to Australia.

Featuring ten portraits of 20th century icons such as Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud and Franz Kafka, Jewish Geniuses will be on show at the Jewish Museum of Australia from November 20 until May 24 next year. On loan from the Jewish Museum of Vienna, the artworks will also depict actress Sarah Bernhardt, philosopher Martin Buber, judge Louis Brandeis, composer George Gershwin, literary great Gertrude Stein, ex-Israeli prime minister Golda Meir and The Marx Brothers.

Accompanying Jewish Genuises, the museum will also host a larger series of events called Warhol Now. Partnering with the Jewish International Film Festival, the National Gallery of Victoria, Midsumma Festival and the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival next year, Warhol Now will combine trivia nights, artist talks and a "Warhol-inspired dining event" to examine the artist's importance and influence on art today.

It's all a little ironic, really. Warhol was not Jewish. He didn't have any particular passion for Jewish issues. In his diary he allegedly wrote that he created these portraits "[because] they're going to sell", now they tour Jewish museums all over the world with new meanings and importance.

That being said, Warhol had a strange kind of wisdom about him too. "Don't pay any attention to what they write about you," he said. "Just measure it in inches." Touché.

Andy Warhol's Jewish Geniuses will be on show at the Jewish Museum of Australia from November 20, 2014 until March 24, 2015. See the website for more details.