Jose Carlos Diaz
Jose Carlos Diaz was impressed with Pittsburgh’s vibrant cultural life when he came here in 2014 to attend The Andy Warhol Museum’s 20th anniversary gala. Now he’s a part of it.
Mr. Diaz, 38, became the museum’s Milton Fine Curator of Art in May. He lives Downtown and walks to work.
“I live Downtown, and I love it,” he said. “There’s a new population moving into Downtown, and with that comes a desire for good food, good shopping. I really feel a part of that transformation. It’s becoming a city for the next generation of young people.”
Mr. Diaz was born in Miami and grew up in Stockton, Calif., east of San Francisco. He holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from San Francisco State University and a master’s degree in cultural history from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.
He came to The Warhol from the Bass Museum of Art in Miami, where he was curator of exhibitions. Mr. Diaz maintains a tie with that city through his husband, Shane Elipot, a Miami oceanographer.
He said he’s always been interested in Warhol, an enthusiasm intertwined with his status as an American art historian. “Andy Warhol is our Picasso. Andy Warhol is our Frieda Kahlo,” he said.
He’s also long been interested in contemporary art. “Pop Art is about popular culture. For me that means contemporary culture.”
With degrees in both art and cultural history he hopes to mix elements of each — for example contemporary art, fashion and design — in future exhibitions to explore new perspectives.
“Andy Warhol’s not defined by medium,” Mr. Diaz said, citing the artist’s paintings, prints, drawings and film, and interests as wide-ranging as the band Velvet Underground. “As we look at the legacy of Warhol, we’re asking, ‘Who are the heirs of Warhol? What is
happening today?’ ”
To that end, he and museum colleague Jessica Beck are developing exhibitions that take in-depth looks at Warhol’s career and life. Mr. Diaz is currently researching Warhol’s spirituality and sexuality. He also contributes to the program of traveling exhibitions that the museum offers to national and international venues.
The first exhibition for The Warhol that he is singularly curating is a midcareer survey of artist Farhad Moshiri, which will debut in October. The Iran- born artist is an alumnus of the California Institute of the Arts. His at times controversial works, which sell for up to seven figures, fuse imagery from American and Iranian culture.
Mr. Diaz said the exhibition is important for him because it is an opportunity to highlight Warhol’s legacy while championing a contemporary artist with his first museum solo show.
On a local level, Mr. Diaz visits regional artists’ studios and is involved with the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force and the Three Rivers Arts Festival.
He plans more outreach through museum “collaborations with organizations and institutions we haven’t worked with in the past.”
“Pittsburgh has a wonderful future, and I want us to be a part of that at The Warhol.”