Cover jacket of 1¢ LIFE by Machteld Appel, a manipulated photograph of Walasse Ting.
The Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach is celebrating its 25th anniversary with its first-ever national exhibition, 1¢ LIFE. The opening reception, a 1960s-themed Pop Art “happening,” will take place on Friday, October 4, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., with a pre-party event for Cultural Center members beginning at 5:30 p.m. The exhibition will be on display September 27 through November 9.
This wildly vibrant poetry and art exhibition celebrates the 55th anniversary of the 1964 landmark publication, 1¢ LIFE, a work of art itself that includes contributions from Pop Art greats. On view are over fifty-five important, original graphics and poems from the 17-by-12-inch book that combined the writings of Walasse Ting with visual art by Roy Lichtenstein, Jim Dine, Joan Mitchell, Mel Ramos, Sam Francis, and Andy Warhol, among others. It has been identified as “a revolutionary tract for a collective aesthetic; an assembled vision of Pop and European abstraction, featuring flat hard-edged drawing and splatter painting, biomorphic art, splashing florescent colors and monochromes all meeting up in a single loud and dynamic package. 1¢ LIFE is among the most beautifully-conceived and artistic book-works of the 1960s, unlike anything published before or after.” (www.thebookbeat.com/backroom)
Roy Lichtenstein, silkscreen binding.
The Cultural Center’s retro opening reception will include 1960s-era cocktails and bites — fondue and martinis, shaken, not stirred — and a ’60s jazz band trio, Cats in Bird Land, will set the vibe to music. Guests are encouraged to travel back in time and don their favorite ’60s attire.
Enhancing the exhibition will be specialty Pop Art and poetry programs, lectures, readings, and workshops, as well as related merchandise available for purchase. This unique anniversary celebration comes at an exciting time of growth and change as the Cultural Center prepares to transition to a new, state-of-the-art facility.
1¢ LIFE Exhibition Opening Reception and CCPVB 25th Anniversary Celebration takes place Friday, Oct. 4, 6 – 8 p.m. The exhibition is on display Sept. 27 – Nov. 9.
Ticket sale proceeds benefit future national and international exhibitions at the Cultural Center.
Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach, 50 Executive Way, 280-0614, ccpvb.org.
