Catch “Andy mania” this weekend when Museum of Fine Arts debuts Andy Warhol Portfolios: Life and Legends, an exhibit of more than 70 screen-prints by the pop master. Classics including "Campbell’s Soup I (Cream of Mushroom)," "Flowers" and portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Superman and Muhammad Ali go on view, along with several lesser-known portfolios. (Pictured at left: “Andy Mouse,” by Keith Haring, 1986; Keith Haring artwork © Keith Haring Foundation, on loan from Bank of America’s Art in Our Communities Program.) The showcase spans Warhol’s career as a fine artist, from his heyday in the 1960s to the 1980s, when he produced the poignant "Endangered Species" series (included in the exhibit) — four years before his unexpected death of complications from gallbladder surgery in 1987. As a bonus, the show includes portraits of Warhol by Keith Haring, whose perversely Disney-esque "Andy Mouse" strikes the perfect irreverent note, and works by photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. May 16-Aug. 16, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., 1-5 p.m Sun., Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Drive NE, St. Petersburg, $12 adults, $10 seniors (65-plus) and students with I.D., $6 ages 7 to 18 (children six and younger enter for free), 727-896-2667, fine-arts.org. (Megan Voeller)
WMNF presents its 28th annual Tropical Heatwave! We have some pretty great coverage thus far — a feature on Kinobe and Soul Beat Africa, a stage-by-stage breakdown of performers, and a 9-question Q&A with The Pack A.D. Stay tuned this weekend for live tweets, video and after-the-fact blogs on Tampa Calling. Sat., May 16, 5 p.m.-1 a.m., The Cuban Club, Orpheum and New World Brewery, Ybor City, $30 full-day pass, $8 per venue NWB and Orpheum.
And speaking of Tropical Heatwave, have you heard about the ACLU of Florida's new Camerahead Project? The Greater Tampa Chapter and a group of student performance artists from USF's College of Art and Art History have banded together to draw attention to camera surveillance in Ybor City during Tropical Heatwave. Look out for performers in colorful costumes with oversized surveillance cameras instead of heads. Sat., May 16, Ybor City.
This article appears in May 13-19, 2009.