Photos courtesy of anonymous
At left, the placard at the center of the Change the Museum post. At right, Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century
The Instagram account Change the Museum, self-described as "pressuring US museums to move beyond lip service proclamations by amplifying tales of unchecked racism" from anonymous whistleblowers, posted employee testimony on Feb. 13 that the museum had "bulldozed the objections" of staff in placing placards around Warhol's work Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century, which features Franz Kafka, Groucho Marx, Pittsburgh-born author Gertrude Stein, and former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir. Some employees believe the placards favor the Israeli government amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
The Change the Museum post has since garnered nearly 2,000 likes as well as numerous comments deploring the Warhol's curatorial decision-making.
According to an anonymous current employee of the Warhol, who says they were not the one who shared their objections with Change the Museum, issues arose with the original versions of the placards when Ten Portraits went on display following Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 attack and Israel's subsequent invasion of Gaza. Some employees felt later edits made following one-on-one consultations with Warhol staff members in October and November were not substantial enough.
Pittsburgh City Paper received photographs of the placards and exhibition, dated Oct. 31, 2023 and Feb. 13, 2024 from the current museum employee. The October 2023 placard accompanying Warhol's portrait of Meir, who helped found the Israeli state in 1948, notably makes no mention of multiple Arab-Israeli conflicts between 1948 and 1973 or Meir's assertion that "there was no such thing as Palestinians."
The later version of the placard introducing Ten Portraits (pictured above) likewise does not explicitly mention Palestine or Gaza and frames Oct. 7 as the start date of "the Middle East conflict." Comparing the museum with Warhol's Factory in New York City, where "people who would not usually mix joined together in a creative, safe place," the placard goes on to express a hope that "the same is true for our visitors even as they mourn the loss of Jewish lives at the start of the Middle East conflict and the humanitarian crisis affecting civilians on both sides of the war."
It is undersigned by Patrick Moore, the museum's director, and Aaron Levi Garvey, chief curator — their names were absent from the original October 2023 version, which made some staff uncomfortable as it appeared to speak for the museum as a whole, as opposed to only its leaders. Moore previously raised eyebrows in late 2022 after organizing an exhibition of Warhol's works in Saudi Arabia for an undisclosed fee.
Garvey, meanwhile, appears to have departed the museum this month, according to his LinkedIn profile. He joined the Warhol as chief curator in August 2023. The museum is now without a full-time curator.
In the Change the Museum post, the whistleblower alleges that the placards draw an unwarranted connection between Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack and the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre at Tree of Life, thereby "ignoring the experience of pro-Palestine current and former employees who have actually attended TOL [Tree of Life]."
The phrase in which Tree of Life is mentioned reads as follows: "With the fifth anniversary of the Tree of Life shootings in Pittsburgh and the global impact of the war in the Middle East, Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century will likely evoke a range of emotions that vary with the background of the viewer."
The Change the Museum post characterizes the Warhol as "platform[ing] the chief curator's personal opinion on Israel's campaign against Gaza in the museum's authoritative voice."
The museum declined to comment on Garvey's departure. Garvey did not respond to City Paper's requests for comment.
Rick Armstrong, director of marketing and communications at the Warhol, responded to CP's detailed requests for comment on the placards with a brief emailed statement reading: "The Andy Warhol Museum has a long history of bringing light to contemporary societal topics via exhibitions, installations and public programming. We often utilize our collection of Warhol works in tandem with these topics to encourage public discourse."
Of note is the fact that the United Museum Workers (UMW), which represents the Warhol's non-management employees, released a statement calling for a ceasefire last November while condemning Hamas' targeting of civilians in Israel. (Full disclosure: the author was previously a UMW member while working at a Carnegie Museums-affiliated arts organization ca. 2021).
"The scale of destruction, displacement, and death amounts to genocide of the Palestinian people and must end," the UMW statement reads in part. "It is imperative that our elected representatives call for an immediate ceasefire. Our hearts are with our Jewish and Muslim neighbors who have seen an uptick in Antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks in our local communities. We commit to creating an environment of safety, solidarity, and understanding. Hatred has no home here."
UMW was unable to respond in detail to a request for comment by press time, but union leader Jenise Brown referred CP to the union's prior statement and said UMW endorses the AFL-CIO's Feb. 8 statement supporting a ceasefire.
"I definitely hope that the union can help to make sure our members feel supported and empowered to have discourse that leads to them feeling safe and meaningfully included in their workplace," Brown said.
It remains to be seen whether the placards will be changed following further outcry and Garvey's exit.
CP intern James Paul contributed additional reporting to this story.
