| In Review: Marilyn Monroe at the CSFAC |
| Written by Ken Hamel | |
| Wednesday, 02 July 2008 | |
 Heather Oelklaus 2008 Relief Portrait of Marilyn Monroe in Prescription Pill Bottles I have to say my interest was not initially piqued when i saw notice of the "Life as Legend: Marilyn Monroe" exhibit at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, but I made the trek down based on: 1) the strength of the last few shows I've seen there, 2) the joy I always get while catching up with the FAC's notable permanent collection now housed in their wonderful new addition, and 3) the opportunity to take in a beautiful summer's day on the back roads down to the Springs on my motorcycle. And while my overall impression wasn't as strong as it was for the truly incredible "Eclectic Eye" exhibit back in 07, "Life as Legend" is certainly worth the trip down, if not for the actual works on display then for the meditation on the question of what is this thing called Marilyn and why does it inspire artists' creations ranging from honestly innovative to commercial kitsch? "Life as Legend" is billed as featuring "nearly 300 works of art inspired by the Hollywood Icon" and yes, there is Marilyn as far as the eye can see. I did find myself a bit bored with many of the cliche takes on the actress (to me Robert Indiana's portraits were exceptionally contrived, and the famous Warhol prints are so iconic as to be tiring) yet there are many surprises that elevate "Life as Legend" beyond the baseline hagiography I anticipated. Some of the stronger works include:
For the historically motivated Monroe fan, the show serves up a who's who of the many glamour photographers that documented the actress' life including Richard Avedon, Sam Shaw, Ernst Hass, Tom Kelley's famous nudes that no doubt brought a generation of young men to climax, Bert Stern's Vogue magazine portraits, Milton Greene's work for Look magazine and several others. Also on the photography front, Christopher Makos 1982 portraits of Andy Warhol dressed as Marilyn are displayed alongside Warhol's seminal Monroe silkscreens. The show is open through July 6th, so if you can handle the MM overload and can quickly maneuver through the dross, there are some gems that make the trip down worthwhile. - KLH |
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