"Andy Warhol - Supernova" at the AGO

Yesterday, I went down to the Art Gallery of Ontario to check out the Andy Warhol - Supernova exhibit.
I'm not an art fanatic, but I do like to look at Warhol's stuff. I think the pop-ness is really cool. Bright colours and simplicity is fun. I'd seen some of his stuff in the Louisiana Modern Art Gallery (yes, I'll get around to writing about Copenhagen soon) and at the Tate Modern (yes, I'll get around to writing about London soon).
The exhibition was really well done. Included in the admission was an audioguide which told you more about the works and the background behind it all. Just looking at the 27 pieces of art, I would have never been able to make the link between "Stars, Death and Disaster", but it's so obviously there. Guest curator David Cronenberg did a great job.
I can't say that I have a favorite out of all of the Warhols I've seen. They're all neat in their own way.
The rest of the AGO was a disappointment, but only because there wasn't much to be seen. It seems as though nearly all of the cultural attractions in Toronto are, or have recently undergone a renovation and the AGO is no exception. What most people know of the main entrance of the AGO not in service right now, and only a small side door is where you have to go. The ROM also has relegated visitors to a side entrance. FYI, it's the "Loblaws" entrance. Barf. I'm also told by those on the inside that many people have actually walked in to the ROM asking for where the produce section is. Seriously. I'm sure those are the same people who used to go to the "Wonderbread" Discovery Gallery (now relegated to the CIBC Discovery Room - darn renovations) and ask for baked goodness. People are weird.

So yeah, while I was there, I witnessed an "incident". I was already in the second room when it started. I heard a man's voice making a lot of noise as well as a crowd's startled reaction. My first thought was that someone was having a seizure. That's what the noise made me think of for some reason.
I reacted slowly, because I thought that it would an incident that probably wouldn't want a crowd (especially if it was a medical emergency or something that could potentially be embarrassing to the people involved). I figured I would let the security deal with the situation, as museum/gallery staff are usually really well trained for this sort of thing. Eventually (maybe a minute later...not actually very long), I decided to see what the fuss was about since the commotion was obviously still taking place.
As I approached the room, I saw a confused crowd looking in the direction of the Red Disaster, 1963. In front of the piece were three completely naked men. Two were on the ground flipping from their backs to fronts, writhing around individually. The third was standing in front of the silkscreen facing the crowd and was putting a black stocking on his head, covering his face (to mask his identity?!?). He was holding a vial of fake blood (the colouring and consistency gave it away for me and later he had to step on the paste to smear it on the floor) which had partly been smeared on his torso and on the floor. At first, I thought the vial was a red Swiss Army knife or something and that's why the security were standing back. He also had something attached to his penis. All three men were muttering words that were unintelligible. A puddle of clothes were by a bench in the corner of the room. There was an unmistakable odour of "uncleanliness" coming from the room.
My mind immediately flashed back to noticing a specific man in the gallery while I was in the first room. He stuck out in my mind because of how he was dressed, dirty white sneakers, trackpants and ratty t-shirt (he contrasted against the rest of the visitors). He was alone, without an audioguide and looked as though he wasn't really looking at the art. He often sat in that corner bench and then would stand up and walk around quickly only to return to the bench.
The gallery wasn't very busy, so I could probably tell you about most of the people who were there at the time. I am a people watcher. I have always found that I don't remember faces very well, but I tend to remember reactions, mannerisms, and apparel/accessories.
I didn't understand what they were doing, I didn't know what their purpose was. Was it religious? Was it about the art? Was it about the artist? They were saying things, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. They were speaking in English, but the three voices clashed with each other, and they weren't articulating very well.
I turned my attention to the AGO staff, as I found it very interesting to see how they were trained and how they would react to this (don't forget my background in Museum work). I was disappointed to see how slowly they moved. It was a good amount of time before one of them stepped between the standing man and the Red Disaster, although before doing so, the lady had repeated asked the man to step forward, away from the piece of art. It didn't seem as though any of the art was in danger, which of course should have been the security's primary concern. The security told anyone (only a few) who tried to film or photograph the events to stop. This was prohibited in the gallery already. They quietly watched the proceedings from the back of the crowd and their faces almost looked as though they were unsure of what to do. I was very surprised at this. One did write something in his book. Every so often other staff members would come in to the exhibit to join the crowd and watch. Only the senior security staff quickly walked in and out of the room.
The door to enter the exhibit had been closed off, but there was no attempt to remove those who were already inside, which I was surprised by. Perhaps since it was thought there was no danger to anyone involved (including the art) that it didn't matter. I would have thought that they would want to clear the visitors to make the event as discreet as possible.
I scanned the crowd. Most were just watching in interest. Many were of an older generation and I was surprised that they were standing calmly watching the three men. I wanted to see if there was anyone in the crowd who may be associated with the three men. I quickly noticed a lady in the middle of the crowd (maybe 20-30 people). She was wearing what I associate as a communist military hat. The army green boxy brimmed baseball hat. And pencil jeans. The had a large "I'm into photography" camera slung over her shoulder and was one of the people trying to snap a shot. She was also holding a stack of white pieces of paper which I noticed her discreetly handing to those around her. The security only went up to her after she'd tried to take a picture to tell her to stop, but that's it. One lady was almost hysterical. She entered the room (she was in the same room as me when it began) and I guess didn't realize it was fake blood as she kept yelling: "call 911", "you need to go to a hospital" (to which one of the men on the ground responded "I'm trying") and "you're crazy". She echoed my sentiments asking the men "what are you protesting?" and saying "I don't understand what you're doing". She left the room screaming, "call 911" and "I can't believe it". Those around me were joking about "getting their money's worth" and kept asking what they were doing and why. No one seemed to understand what they were trying to do, which I'm not sure if it was intended that way.
I recall a lady (and what she was wearing, including the fact that she had a clear plastic "Hello my name is" type of thing "and I'm attending a conference" hanging around her neck. I tried to get a good look at what it said on it, but couldn't make it out) who entered the exhibition from the exit (strange), quickly walked to see what was happening, take out a "point and shoot" digital camera, flash a picture which was obstructed by an arm of a security man and quickly walk out again. No one stopped her.
I wasn't as disturbed at what the men were doing, as I was by how everyone was watching calmly. I have to admit that I got kind of bored by the whole thing, because I couldn't understand what they were saying, and they weren't really doing anything different. Just talking and writhing (2 men) or standing (the one man) legs and arms spread in front of the piece of art. I was surprised at how interested everyone else was, and just how few of them continued on to the other room to see the rest of the exhibit. I was surprised that more people didn't leave the room in disgust or in shock. If there was more variety in the "show" I would understand, but there was none.
Finally, at least a good 10 minutes later a senior security member yelled to clear the room. A partition was wheeled in to block the room from our sight. Most of the people became disinterested and continued on with the exhibit, some lingered to wait by the partition to see if anything would happen. I spoke with a docent who had been watching the proceedings, and she was just as confused as everyone else in terms of what was happening. I knew that she had received a copy of the flyer being handed out and had therefore thought she may have known what it was about. I was surprised to hear her say that she hadn't even looked at it. Yet, she was just standing there, the whole time...just watching. It was really strange. Why was everyone so interested at something they didn't understand? She showed me the flyer and I scanned it quickly.
The wording was complicated and coupled with my attempt to read it as quickly as possible, I still didn't understand the purpose of what they were doing. It referred to "neoism", but didn't explain it very well. A phrase that I remember was: "artists as pawns". For some reason I think of "commercialism". Or "the corporation". Don't forget that my vocabulary isn't the best, and maybe what I imagine these words to mean is completely incorrect, but after scanning the page, these are the two ideas that I came up with. It also referred specifically to the Red Disaster. The 2 panel piece that they were in front of. The left panel was a solid red and the right was a red background with a repeated black image (typical Warhol) of an electric chair. I didn't notice any names on the page other than Warhol himself.
I wonder why they picked that day to do this. It was midday, on a weekday. Did they want lots of attention? They could have picked a busier day.
The senior security staff asked to make sure that two women do not leave the exhibition. One was the lady with the hat and camera, another, that I did not notice had a video camera with her. She too was dressed the part though. Right down to the skinny jeans. Sure, sure, don't judge a book by its cover, but you know, often it works. The security asked for the camera and video and both resisted and actually walked away from the security trying to blend in to the crowd and used their audioguides. The "camera" lady hung around the partition quite a bit though and was chatting with some bewildered visitors saying that they shouldn't partition off the area, "the public should be allowed to see what's happening". Two other women visitors piped up out loud when the security were trying to corner the "video" lady to get her to turn over her camcorder saying "don't give in!" and "don't let them take it!". I flashed back to the lady with the badge around her neck. I wonder who she was and where she's from.
A couple minutes later, the police finally showed up and I noticed that the men were putting their clothes back on. The two women were asked to enter the partitioned off area as well. The "camera" lady went without hesitation (she actually had gone in again just after the are had been partitioned off - I almost thought it was because they wanted her to explain what the men were trying to do, because they weren't clear enough themselves) and the "video" lady when after much hesitation. She had actually sort of ran away from the security as they were walking towards her. The men were escorted out from the entrance to the exhibition so I did not see them walk by. Apparently the ladies were not escorted by the police. I do now know what happened to the footage and photos.
As I was leaving, I saw the "video" lady getting a refund for her ticket. I noticed that all the AGO staff were talking about the incident without much success, because a lot of them hadn't seen what had happened. I chatted with the lady who had given me my audioguide who had just finished telling her colleague that she'd thought it weird that three men didn't want the audioguide as they entered the exhibition. I saw the "badge" lady who was asking to get something from her bag at the coat check and asked her if she'd gotten a picture. She said no, but I got a really weird vibe from her.

It was really interesting. I still don't really understand what they were doing, but as usual, I was more interested in the other people who were involved and not the main stars themselves.