When Andy Warhol predicted everyone would enjoy 15 minutes of fame, it might not have occurred to him that some would achieve said notoriety by dressing up like him.
Forty years later it happened: Seven guests and professional impersonator Steve Pearce donned wigs and glasses to make them look like the eccentric artist for a CultureHaus-sponsored benefit for the Denver Art Museum. The 400 Art of POP attendees also included a human Lichtenstein print, someone done up as a disco ball and several who channeled the spirits of such figures of the era as Edie Sedgwick, Marilyn Monroe, Blondie and Twiggy.
Ania Iwaniczko, whose outfit, hairstyle and heavily made-up eyes gave her a striking resemblance to the super-skinny model, won the Most Fabulous Dressed contest and received an iPod loaded with pop tunes.
CultureHaus board members Sally Brandt-Lieb and Christina Brickley chaired the benefit that raised $20,000 and had everyone dancing to the music of Vanilla Pop and enjoying period fare – think Campbell’s tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, Pop Tarts and White Castle sliders from Gourmet Fine Catering – in the museum’s Duncan Pavilion and Schlessman Hall, which had been decorated like the Popster hangout Studio 54.
Mayor John Hickenlooper, who founded CultureHaus 10 years ago as a means of attracting younger audiences for the DAM, was the honorary chairman while KBCO personality Keefer emceed.
Other guests were Idée- Force CEO Heather Gallien;rock promoter Mel Gibson; Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown; Larimer Square marketing director Margaret Ebeling; e-college executives Justin McMorrow, Matt Schnittman and Robert Pearson; Holme Roberts & Owens partner Randy Miller and wife Mary; Steve Kurowski of Breckenridge Brewery; Twist and Shout’s Dawn Greany; Charles Stillwagon and Christine Ashe of the Tattered Cover; Amy Wrede of the Denver Metro Convention & Visitor’s Bureau with her husband, Kevin; Amy Nix, winner of the Pop into Vegas weekend that included round trip air, hotel and $300 spending money; and Scott Rickert, who took home a $200 gift card from Cherry Creek North.
To join CultureHaus, visit culturehaus.com.
Society editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com. She also contributes at denverpostbloghouse.com/Davidson.
More online: Additional photos from the Art of Pop .
