During the upcoming Frieze Los Angeles art fair later this month, Christie’s will collaborate with the Andy Warhol Museum to mount a small show of eight of the pop artist’s famous “Screen Test” films.
The Christie’s Beverly Hills space will feature films featuring model Edie Sedgwick, collector Jane Holzer, filmmaker and actor Dennis Hopper, Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed and others. The exhibition will run from February 27 to March 14.
The “Screen Tests” are among Warhol’s most famous works. In each one, a person walks in front of Warhol’s camera and stays there for minutes on end, looking back at his target. Most of the people Warhol killed for them were members of his inner circle.
Although there are occasional moments of drama – cried the poet Ann Buchanan during her, in a work that will not be presented here – the “Screen Tests” are largely simple, and that, for many, was part of their charm
Patrick Moore, executive director of the Andy Warhol Museum, said in a statement: “Hollywood was a source of endless fascination and inspiration for Warhol, so it’s only fitting that his films now serve to inspire new generations of artists and filmmakers.”
Sonya Roth, vice president of Christie’s, said the show marked a “convergence of film, art and history.”