Tickets are available 8/5 for members and 8/7 for nonmembers.
On Saturday October 29, 1966, the ICA/Boston hosted a groundbreaking multimedia performance by Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground, under the enigmatic title, “Exploding Plastic Inevitable.” Presented as part of Warhol’s second-ever museum exhibition, the event invited audiences to experience a cacophony of durational light and sound activations, meant to challenge any expectations of instant pleasure or gratification. The Velvet Underground had become well-known for their dark, minimalist, and occasionally abrasive sound. Among Warhol’s goals for the piece were to explore the capacity to bestow renewed interest upon details that are often submerged in the normative, evenly lit flow of time. In addition to live music, the night consisted of film projections, a variety of strobe and spotlights, and choreographed dance, to create a singular, and confrontational, total-art experience.
On the occasion of its 60th anniversary, and as part of 90 YEARS, the museum’s deep dive into its long and storied history, the ICA resurrects the spirit of what has been called one of the greatest concerts in Boston history.
