Artist Rob Pruitt, whose work is currently on exhibition at the University Gallery, proposed the idea of hosting an exhibition in response to The Minox & the Big Shot: Andy Warhol’s Photography (1972-1986) that would allow MFA students the opportunity to engage in an artistic dialogue with Warhol’s art. Entitled Shameless Self-Promotion, this exhibition connects the University Gallery, the MFA program, and the arts community together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Andy Warhol Foundation.

Fifteen participating UMass Amherst MFA candidates have each created a work of art on the Polaroid-sized dimension that Warhol was so personally fond of. Appropriating the Polaroid’s dimensions, the project/exhibition has a new platform that is not just echoing Warhol’s Polaroids, but also updating the format. Featured artist Chun-Tso Lin remarks about the concept, “We might not become one of the objects in Warhol’s Polaroids; we might not be seen from Warhol’s eyes; we might not be rich and famous; but what we can be are artists that enjoy Warhol’s legacy.” Each participating artist will be their own star in the condensed format of the Polaroid’s dimensions, and the University Gallery will also serve as a platform for the artists and their work.

Shameless Self-Promotion is not just a response exhibition, but a conceptual art project that will be “performed” by the Gallery, artists, and the viewer. It might be seen as a reiteration of the traditional gallery format, but, similar to what each participating artist has done with Warhol’s vision in his or her use of the Polaroid’s dimensions, there is an important conceptual twist to it. As participant Chun-Tso Lin puts it, “Art needs an artist, a gallery, and a viewer in order to be ‘art.’ You as the viewer are invited to come and be part of the ‘art making.’ Let us be known; let us be seen, and let us shine.” After all, it is Shameless Self-Promotion.

Participating Artists: Katie Baker, Courtney Cullen, Michelle Dickson, Ryan
Feeney, Joshua Field, Kerry O’Grady, Michele Lauriat, Chun-Tso Lin, Camila
Molestina, Sarah Purnell, Hannah Richards, Chad Seelig, Karla Stingerstein,
Jieun Shin, and Steve Snell.