The University of South Florida’s Institute for Research in Art is the umbrella organization that runs the university’s art programs, including the Contemporary Art Museum (USFCAM). Part of the University of South Florida College of The Arts, the IRA is dedicated to an international artists’ residency program that brings to the University and Tampa Bay community today’s most accomplished and influential artists working in the international art arena. Exhibitions, collection development, publication of limited edition graphics and sculpture multiples, commissioned public art works, interdisciplinary arts research, lectures, symposia, workshops and special events are designed to foster awareness about the role of contemporary artists in shaping our culture and society. Participating artists represent the full and diverse spectrum of contemporary art practice including, but not limited to, painting, sculpture, photography, electronic media, and performance.
Institute for Research in Art, University of Southern Florida, Contemporary Art Museum
1964
Philip Johnson commissioned Warhol to make a large-scale work for the exterior for his pavilion for the New York World’s Fair, along with other artists. Warhol’s provocative response, a multiple portrait of ‘Most Wanted Men’ was installed a few days before the opening but was deemed too inflammatory and contrary to the upbeat image of the World’s Fair and the work was taken down.