Painting Lana Neumeyer’s Dress for the 25th Anniversary Gala of the Andy Warhol Museum

Lana Neumeyer and myself Michael Goltz in the new Andy Warhol Exhibit “Revelations” on the 2nd floor of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. Lana Neumeyer is wearing a dress which is handpainted by me Michael Goltz, and we are standing next to pieces of Andy Warhol’s work.

Pittsburgh fashion designer Lana Neumeyer wore a dress to the 25th Anniversary Gala of the Andy Warhol Museum this past Saturday October 19th at the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pa which was hand-painted by me. The idea for the dress started roughly a month ago when Lana Neumeyer asked me to meet her at the Andy Warhol Museum to tour it and then have lunch to discuss an idea which she had concerning the then upcoming 25th anniversary gala for the Andy Warhol Museum.

Line drawings of icons which I have done, as well as 2 painted icons which I Michael Goltz brought to the fabric stole to show Lana Neumeyer my work and to begin designing the dress.

Andy Warhol is a famous 20th century pop artist from Pittsburgh, PA. Andy Warhol’s designs and his lifestyle are very well known. What is less well known is the fact that Andy Warhol was a devout Byzantine Catholic who attended Divine Liturgy daily, helped pay for his nephew to attend seminary and would often volunteer his time at local soup kitchens. It is also less well known that Andy Warhol’s work was influenced by being raised in the Byzantine Church. The Byzantine Catholic Church shares much of the cultural heritage as the Eastern Orthodox Church, of which I Michael Goltz am a member and whose icons I have been painting for the past 23 years. After touring the Warhol Museum we had lunch during which Lana proposed her idea for a design which would do homage to Warhol’s Byzantine Catholic roots and asked if I was interested in painting the design.

Lana Neumeyer is a friend of mine. I have had the joy to photograph her designs at many fashion shows over the past few years. She is one of the best fashion designers in Pittsburgh, someone who my model friends always jump at the opportunity to walk the runway for wearing her designs. Originally from Brazil, her designs are always colorful and creative. Thus the opportunity to work with Lana Neumeyer on a project was very exciting for me.

The fabric to the upper left corner would become the dress. More examples of my line drawings and painted icons, along with an article about the Byzantine roots of artist Andy Warhol.

The next step in the design process was to meet at a local fabric store to pick out fabric for the dress. Being this was the 25th anniversary for the Andy Warhol Museum the colors for the 25th Aniversary Gala for the Andy Warhol Museum were black and silver. I suggested a silver fabric which was smooth enough to paint on, but also had an iridescent sheen to it. Lana Neumeyer approved of my suggestion and the design process was under way.

The initial drawing of the painting on paper and then me putting the drawing on the fabric. I used my Galaxy tablet to have a color copy of an icon of St. John Chrysostom to reference when doing the drawing.

The design process began to take some real shape when I proceeded to take over Lana Neumeyer’s dining room table for 3 days. We decided the design for the painting would be an icon-like painting of St. John Chrysostom, the patron saint of the Byzantine Catholic parish which Andy Warhol attended in Pittsburgh, PA. The first step in designing the painting was to make a base drawing of the St. John’s face on paper. Due to the nature of the fabric which was being worked on, I could not transfer the drawing which I did in my normal manner. Normally I would draw the drawing on paper and get everything perfect and then transfer the image to canvas. The transfer to canvas is usually done by rubbing conte crayon on the back of the drawing and re-tracing the drawing. However because of the nature of the fabric which was being used, this was not a possibility. Thus once I drew the drawing on paper, I had to then re-draw the drawing on the fabric freehand. Because of the fabric being used there was no room for error! The drawing had to go down perfect the first time! No sweat! (well, maybe just a little sweat).

Being a photographer as well as an artist, the entire process was photographed using my cell phone. The cell phone was quicker and easier to use than my Nikon DSLR and for this purpose worked just fine.

The initial drawing of the face of St. John Chrysostom on the fabric. Look at the iridescent sheen on the fabric!

Testing the paint mixed with glazing medium to make sure it would adhere properly to the fabric and not rub off at the slightest touch.

The outline of the painting on the silver fabric.

Let’s add some color. Not totally covering the silver fabric, just enough to hint at the features of the design.

First I gave some color to the paintings eyes and to the outlines of his robe. Colors in Byzantine Iconography have very deep meaning and so I was very deliberate about what colors I chose.

Added the color of the Gospel book and pages.

Painted in the gold paint for the halo and the jewels in the shape of a cross on the Gospel book.

Once the Saint’s outline was painted, we decided to put on the sides of the painting the words “Andy Warhol” and “25th”.

Icons are not signed by tradition, but this is not an icon. I did not pray while doing the painting and I did not inscribe the saints name on the painting, thus by rule it is simply a painting done in a Byzantine style. Thus I had no problem with it when Lana asked me to sign my painting. The font used is the same font that I have used for lettering on icons for the past 23 years.

Originally the painting was meant to be a cape and so we decided to paint a second piece of fabric the same size and shape as the first with Byzantine crosses in the style that are on the bishop’s stole on that piece of fabric. The idea was that the second piece of fabric would be the inside of the cape and people could see the crosses as Lana Neumeyer walked. Instead she made the first painting into a dress and the crosses painting into a shawl. Most people have a specific shape in mind when they think of Byzantine Crosses, so I explained to Lana Neumeyer that the crosses that Andy Warhol painted were actually Byzantine Crosses because they are the crosses that are on the bishop’s stole as is evident in this icon of St. John Chrysostom which I Michael Goltz painted a few years back. The crosses were painted in red, yellow and blue, the colors that make up the Steelmark logo which famously appears on the Pittsburgh Steelers helmet. This logo a symbol of the steel industry which once flourished in Pittsburgh.

Byzantine Crosses similar to the ones on a Bishop’s stole, on the second sheet of fabric painted by me, Michael Goltz. This was initially meant to be the inside of the cape, but Lana Neumeyer made the painting into a dress instead of a cape and therefore this piece of fabric was made into a shawl. The colors red, blue and yellow are the same colors on the steel industry logo and on the logo on the Pittsburgh Steelers helmet.

We initially planned the painting to be a cape. Lana Neumeyer made it a dress, and what a spectacular dress it turned out to be!!!

Lana Neumeyer wearing the dress that I Michael Goltz painted for her, standing next to 2 of Andy Warhol’s paintings in the Andy Warhol Museum the night of the Andy Warhol Musuem’s 25 Anniversary Gala.

Thank you Lana Neumeyer for the opportunity to contribute to the creation of such an amazing dress!!!