Stonewall, Mapplethorpe, and Warhol at America’s oldest continuously operating public art museum, the Wadsworth Atheneum.
The Wadsworth Atheneum is more than “just” America’s oldest continuously operating public art museum. It’s also home to a ton of terrific film series. This weekend’s free — yes, free — screening of Before Stonewall and Stonewall Rising is just one example.
Still from Before Stonewall, 1984, Directed by Greta Schiller and Robert Rosenberg
These two Stonewall films, shown back to back, examine this seminal moment in gay history through two different approaches. Before Stonewall, a documentary, explores the history of the American gay and lesbian community back to the 1920s. Stonewall Uprising tells the story of the infamous police raid at the Stonewall Inn in 1969 that led to a three-day riot and launched the gay rights movement.
Andy Warhol, Ladies and Gentlemen, 1975. Synthetic polymer and silkscreen ink on canvas, in 2 parts, Collection Stephanie Seymour, Courtesy The Brant Foundation, Greenwich, Conn. Art © 2014 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Be sure you leave time before or after to view the current exhibit these films are meant to complement: Warhol & Mapplethorpe: Guise & Dolls. In it, iconic artists Andy Warhol and Robert Mapplethorpe shine a light on New York in the 1970s and 1980s. The exhibit includes the artists’ portraits of each other, self-portraits, and stylistic portraits of others addressing role playing and gender roles. It is the first dual museum exhibit of these two visionary artists.
Robert Mapplethorpe, Patti Smith, 1975. Gelatin silver print, The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, N.Y. © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission.
