Boca Raton Museum of Art Hosts ~ Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe

Written by George Robertson Thursday, 28 October 2010 21:46

Boca Raton, FL - Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe captures the spark, sex appeal and sensation that was Marilyn Monroe through the art of Andy Warhol, Allen Jones, Peter Blake, Richard Avedon, Bert Stern, Henri Cartier-Bresson and many others.  This vivid and diverse exhibition of 268 objects captures Marilyn’s rise to stardom through works by more than 80 artists in styles ranging from fashion photography to Pop Art. Documenting the iconic life of America’s favorite sex symbol, this exhibition showcases one of the world’s most famous and intriguing women.

A visual voyage of Monroe’s rise to stardom, the exhibition begins with Tom Kelley’s Red Velvet Pose for Playboy and continues with the sensuous bed sheet shots, One Night with Marilyn, Douglas Kirkland photographs.  Also shown is the once newly rehabilitated, revived and slender Marilyn Here’s to You photos with champagne glass in hand, celebrating her entrée back into Hollywood, during the poignant The Last Sitting by Bert Stern. 

Life as a Legend depicts recognizable moments in Monroe’s film career, such as the famous subway grate scene with Thomas Ewell in Seven Year Itch by Sam Shaw, and also portrays the pensive behind the scenes shots of the Misfits by Ernst Haas.   In addition to the introspective lens of Shaw, Haas, Kelley, Kirkland, Stern and others, artists such as Andy Warhol and Mel Ramos and other more avant guarde artists such as Antonio de Felipe and Yasumasa Morimura offer their various Marilyn interpretations.  The diversity of the exhibition allows the viewer to enjoy and remember all the facets of the charismatic Marilyn through the fashion photography and Hollywood moments as well as exploring deeper to revisit and explore the tender vulnerability of this captivating legend.

She came into the world as Norma Jean Baker, but cast off her humble beginnings to become Marilyn Monroe.  She was known as much for her classic films such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Bus Stop, Seven Year Itch, Some Like it Hot and How to Marry a Millionaire, as for her celebrity marriages and rumored liaisons.  Though her life ended far too soon, the world's fascination with Marilyn Monroe's magnetic appeal and much publicized private life has continued to thrive over time.  There has never been another Marilyn, a unique personification of femininity, naïveté and sexuality.  For decades artists have been inspired by Marilyn to create their own works complementing the instantly recognizable bombshell figure, platinum hair and dazzling smile.  Marilyn Monroe personifies glamour, Hollywood and sensuality.

The death of Marilyn Monroe remains a mystery as does the private woman behind the myth of Marilyn.  However, Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe celebrates the many sides of this 1950’s glamour goddess and immortal legend.  “Real beauty and femininity are ageless and can’t be contrived. Glamour can be manufactured.” - Marilyn Monroe

The Boca Raton Museum of Art was founded in 1950 as the Art Guild of Boca Raton, and has evolved into one of the leading cultural institutions in South Florida.  Celebrating its fifth year in its 44,000 square foot home in Mizner Park, the Museum has achieved international recognition as a world-class visual arts institution, presenting dynamic traveling exhibitions from acclaimed and emerging artists, and an outstanding permanent collection.

National tour of Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe is as follows: The Women's Museum: An Institute for the Future, Dallas, TX, September 26, 2006 - October 8, 2006; Boca Raton Museum of Art, FL, December 6, 2006 - April 1, 2007; Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH, April 28, 2007 - June 24, 2007; Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV, July 7, 2007 - September 2, 2007; Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, IA, September 29, 2007 - November 25, 2007; Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, NS, Canada, December 15, 2007 - February 17, 2008; Fine Arts Center Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, May 3, 2008 - June 29, 2008; Saginaw Art Museum, Saginaw, MI, September 13, 2008 - November 9, 2008.

The Boca Raton Museum of Art visit : www.bocamuseum.org.