Andy Warhol’s Balloons

Education Exhibitions Youth

One of the most fun recent installations for students was Andy Warhol's Rainforest—the silver clouds featured in the exhibition Merce Cunningham: Common Time.

I think one of the most exciting moments for students related to a particular artwork was when we had the Silver Clouds in the fourth floor, the Andy Warhol balloons. I think that it was a very playful space. And going through an exhibition that is a lot of—I don't know, drier artwork and trying to get students to relate to a Robert Rauschenberg is one thing. But then when you walk them into a space and they can actually physically relate to an artwork and have some kind of joyful experience and not have to think about how that artwork fits into a place in history and not have to think about who made it, in what year, and why, and just go in and experience joy and then leave that space and think about what the experience was like for them and how they can relate—how that changes their expectations of a museum and how that changes their expectations of artwork. That piece in particular, it was just really rewarding for them just to go into a room and play.

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Video still, Behind the Scenes at an Art Museum. © MCA Chicago.

Behind the Scenes

MCA staff members are interviewed in 1997 about their work. Interviews include Torri Johnson, security officer; Margaret Farr, assistant director of education; Pablo Helguera, coordinator of public programs; Dominic Molon,. . . more
1990s Community Education Staff