ART teachers from schools across the Brisbane archdiocese received a whole lot of inspiration on a recent visit to the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art’s Andy Warhol exhibition, South Brisbane.
As part of their post-graduate studies at the Australian Catholic University, 21 teachers experienced a day of – what they called – “visual gluttony”.
ACU lecturer John Fitz-Walter, who accompanied the teachers, said Andy Warhol was a devout Byzantine Catholic whose artwork could be interpreted on a religious level.
“A lot of art tends to be viewed very secularly,” he said.
“But when you are aware of how dedicated Warhol was to his faith, you can see his work very differently.
“His version of The Last Supper contained lineal and colourful images of Christ, and threw a lot up for people to consider about how we view our faith and find meaning in our lives.”
Mater Dei, Ashgrove, Arts teacher Evelyn Chapman said she had “writers cramp” from trying to note down every detail at the exhibition.
“I wanted to take away as much as I could about his methods and techniques to use back in the classroom,” she said.
After the exhibition, teachers were given the task of designing a visual art project to implement in their schools, and it seems they weren’t short of Warhol-inspired ideas.
Ms Chapman decided she would install a quiet, sacred space for reflection in the Mater Dei playgrounds.
“Andy Warhol made us see that there was art everywhere, so I am putting art into our environment and making it part of everyday space, not just hanging it on a wall.”
The exhibition contains more than 300 works spanning all areas of Warhol’s practice from the 1950s until his death in 1987.
