Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe, on exhibit at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center from May 3 – July 6, captures the beauty, sensuality and vulnerability of an American icon, who many have described as the sexiest woman of the 20th Century.

Experience the spark, sex appeal and sensation of Marilyn Monroe through the art of Andy Warhol, Christo, Douglas Kirkland, Robert Indiana, Mel Ramos, Richard Avedon, Bert Stern, Henri Cartier-Bresson and many others.

This vivid and diverse exhibition of 286 objects captures Marilyn’s rise to stardom, her private life and public image, through works by more than 80 artists ranging from fashion photographers to Pop painters to international contemporary artists.

“This exhibition provides an intimate look at the enchanting actress who charmed the world with her looks, vulnerability and innocence,” said FAC Curator Tariana Navas-Nieves.

“We are happy to bring this special traveling exhibition to Colorado Springs. As an added treat, we’ve invited several local and regional artists to create their own original works of art inspired by Marilyn. We think that their contributions will make this blockbuster event even more memorable.”

During her lifetime, the blonde bombshell captured the attention of the world’s top photographers, who snapped shots of the dazzling star on the sets of her films and in more intimate moments.

A visual voyage of Monroe’s rise to stardom, the exhibition features the most famous photographs of Marilyn from the most recognizable moments of her film career; including Sam Shaw’s iconic image of Marilyn standing over the subway grate from Seven Year Itch.

Other exhibition highlights include Douglas Kirkland’s bed sheet shot, One Night with Marilyn, Bert Stern’s poignant The Last Sitting, showing a glowing Marilyn with a champagne glass in hand taken six weeks before her death, and, of course, Andy Warhol’s Marilyns.

In the 1960s, Andy Warhol transformed Monroe into an iconic subject of the Pop Art movement, inspiring artists like Robert Indiana and Mel Ramos. Monroe’s timeless appeal continues today as evident in works by Spanish painter Antonio de Felipe and Japanese artist Yasumasa Morimura, among many. This exhibit contains nudity.

Added Attraction

As a special addition to this exhibition, at the FAC only, patrons will enjoy new, original works of art by local and regional artists based on the charismatic icon, including:

Louis Cicotello, Adam Conard, William Cummins, Carol Dass, Atomic Elroy,  Margaret Kasahara, Scott LaFavor, D.K. McDonald, Stephen F. Morath, Jocelyn Nevel,  Heather Oeklaus, George Sanchez, Kat and Bob Tudor, Floyd Tunson, Brett Wilson

About Marilyn

A struggling actress who was “discovered” while inspecting parachutes for the army in 1944, Marilyn became the most famous woman in Hollywood, with an acting career that spanned 16 years and 30 films.

On the screen she became known for her sex appeal and comedic and serious acting in such classic films as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Bus Stop, Seven Year Itch, Some like it Hot and How to Marry a Millionaire.

The public was also fascinated with her personal love life from her celebrity marriages to baseball legend Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller to her rumored liaison with then President John F. Kennedy.

The screen legend’s alluring image has had a tremendous impact on the art world, beginning in the 1950s and continuing decades after her death even into the new century. In 2007, Marilyn was seen in an Apple iPhone commercial during the Academy Awards.

Later that spring, Lemon Marilyn, a portrait by Andy Warhol, which had sold for $250 in 1962, went on the auction blocks for the first time, selling for $28 million last May. Lindsay Lohan made headlines earlier this year by recreating the famous Last Sitting photos with photographer Bert Stern for the New York magazine.

Beauty and the Beast

After enchanting audiences for more than 13 years on Broadway, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast took its final bow in July 2007, ending its run as one of Broadway’s longest-running American musicals.

Now the Fine Arts Center Theatre Company is staging this Disney classic as the grand finale of the 2007-2008 theatre season with performances from May 9 – June 1.

Beauty and the Beast features Alan Menken’s Academy Award-winning score, songs by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, including the Academy Award®-winning title song and the show-stopping “Be Our Guest;” plus “Belle,” “Gaston,” and “Beauty and the Beast;” and songs written especially for the stage by Alan Menken and Tim Rice, including “If I Can’t Love Her” and “A Change in Me.”

The musical received nine Tony® Award nominations, including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Costumes. All of which makes Beauty and the Beast the perfect show for the SaGāJi Theatre, which has for years produced some of the finest musicals in the region. The show is funny, romantic, moving and entertaining. You and your family won’t want to miss this classic tale.

For more information on all the happenings at the Fine Arts Center, phone 634-5583.