Warhol’s San Diego Surf at MoMA

Andy Warhol, San Diego Surf, 1968/1996. © 2012 The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, a museum of Carnegie Institute. All rights reserved

As previously reported on the Harmony Blog, MoMA is screening Warhol’s San Diego Surf…this week! From January 23–28, 2013.

Andy Warhol’s San Diego Surf concerns an unhappily married couple (Taylor Mead and Viva), new parents who rent their beach house to a group of surfers. Filmed with two 16mm cameras by Warhol and Paul Morrissey in May 1968, this was the first movie Warhol made in California in the five years since Tarzan and Jane Regained, Sort of…. It was also one of the last films in which the artist had direct involvement; in June 1968, Warhol was shot by Valerie Solanas, after which his work behind the movie camera came largely to an end. San Diego Surf was only partially edited and never released. In 1995, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. commissioned Morrissey to complete the editing, based on existing notes and the rough cut. San Diego Surf is a significant addition to an epic oeuvre. Restored by The Andy Warhol Foundation and released by The Andy Warhol Museum as part of the museum’s larger mission of promoting and safeguarding Andy Warhol’s legacy.

Also of note: Amy Taubin reviewed the film in the January issue of Artforum

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