La Dolce Viva

Last updated

La Dolce Viva is a landmark article written in 1968 by Barbara Goldsmith about Viva (born Janet Susan Mary Hoffmann), a model and actress in Andy Warhol's movies. [1] It was published in New York Magazine in the magazine's inaugural year; the profile and the accompanying nude photographs by Diane Arbus, depicted Viva as penniless, promiscuous, and addicted to drugs, caused a scandal that nearly scuttled the new publication. [2] Although the photographs by Arbus are best known, the article's opening photograph, in which Viva is seated and fully clothed on a stool, was taken by Lee Kraft and had previously run in the American edition of Vogue. [3]

Contents

Summary

La Dolce Viva is an interview with Viva, one of the actresses in Andy Warhol's movies. Viva was headlined as 'The Last of Andy Warhol superstars', as Warhol would film them and declare them "superstars". Along with being an actress, Viva is a model who had modeled for Vogue and influenced the fashion trends of the time.

Viva grew up in a very Catholic home surrounded by figures of the Virgin Mary, Bibles, and pictures of First Communion, and lived with the nuns until she was twenty years old. Once Viva turned twenty, she left the religious ways of her family and the Catholic Church. The article notes that she had a degree from a Marymount College and had attended art schools in Paris, including a year at the Sorbonne. The article details Viva's experience with sex, drug, and love in Warhol's Factory; however Goldsmith's drafts of the article, kept along with her papers at the New York Public Library, included quotes from Viva that Goldsmith chose to not use, including, "If I feel the need to relax, I have a couple of drinks, but drugs – no." [3]

Viva claimed to have been introduced to drugs by the experimental psychologist Timothy Leary, who told her to take psilocybin mushrooms, and lists all of the drugs she has taken. [3] After this episode with Leary, she asked her mother to have her hospitalized in a mental institution, but then became alarmed and requested to leave. She was cared for by her mother at home before moving to New York to live with her sister. Viva's history of mental illness raised questions about if Goldsmith's article exploited an already vulnerable subject. [3]

Tone

In La Dolce Viva the tone is honest, shocking to some, and nonchalant. Her lifestyle, especially her promiscuity, was not accepted in this period in time. Throughout Goldsmith's representation of tone and mood, it is somewhat negative as they scrimmage through her apartment junk, talk about her rough life, and the need for sex and drugs.

Viva's words are transcribed in detail, including conversation about her family, an unpaid ConEdison bill, drug use, and her precarious financial situation. However Goldsmith opted to not include her questions in the article, making it appear as if Viva's statements were spontaneous and natural. [3]

Setting

La Dolce Viva takes place mostly in Warhol's new loft studio which has been named 'The Factory', which was full of his helpers and hangers-on. Some parts of the interview took place in Viva's East 83rd Street brownstone apartment which is scattered with the mixture of clean and dirty clothes, underwear, dishes in the sink, food on the counter and stacks of old magazines and papers; Goldsmith did not appear to have qualms about revealing most of her subject's home address. [3] Along with Andy Warhol's apartment and Viva's apartment, part of the interview in La Dolce Viva also took place in Max's Kansas City, a restaurant where the models, actresses, and Warhol were treated like celebrities.

Characterization

Viva's character is introduced to readers as an actress in Andy Warhol's movies and later, readers find out that she is a model who influences the fashion industry. Goldsmith uses questions that lead to showing Viva's promiscuous side and her dependency on a male figure: Viva is quoted saying "I slept with him for security reasons" during the interview. Viva would go on to dispute Goldsmith's characterizations of these events and quotes, stating that most of the men she claimed to have had sex with were gay. [3]

Effects and criticism

La Dolce Viva revealed the seedier side of Andy Warhol's entourage through Viva. “I had never seen anything like it,” Tom Wolfe wrote of accompanying nude photos from Diane Arbus. According to contemporary New York Times review of the book, La Dolce Viva gave an insight to Warhol's relationship to other people. But the articles appearance in the New York hurt the magazine ("The Nude Photos that Nearly Destroyed New York"), and New York's editor, Clay Felker, was aware of the commercial risk he ran in publishing the piece.

Half of the magazine's investors pulled out after the article ran. [4] Wolfe included it in his 1973 anthology, The New Journalism . [4]

A month after the article's publication, Warhol was shot and nearly killed by Valerie Solanas while on the phone with Viva; the Warhol entourage became much more closed to journalists and other strangers. [3] Viva left Warhol's circle in November 1969. The article was referenced in Viva's 1970 semi-autobiographical novel, Superstar.

Since the publication of La Dolce Viva, Hoffmann has contested the veracity of the article and stated that she did not give Arbus permission to photograph her naked. [5] Arthur Lubow, Arbus's biographer, corroborated this, stating that Arbus said there was "no need [for Viva to get dressed], these would only be headshots, nothing would show" and that photographing and publishing Viva's entire, naked body was a "promise that Arbus sometimes failed to keep". [3] Hoffmann also claimed that the photograph of her in which her eyes are rolling, giving the impression of being on drugs during the interview, was because Arbus directed her to roll her eyes; Lubow disputed this as Arbus disliked giving this kind of direction. [3] [6] Hoffmann was shown the article on the night of her appearance on The Merv Griffin Show and stated her intention to sue the magazine. [7] Hoffmann's future bookings with Vogue were cancelled after Diana Vreeland, the editor, saw the photographs. In 1984, Felker stated that he had made "a terrible mistake" in publishing the pictures of Viva. [7]

Arbus never published with New York again. Tom Wolfe stated in 2008 that an original print of Arbus's photographs of Viva would fetch about $500,000 at auction. [3] [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane Arbus</span> American photographer (1923–1971)

Diane Arbus was an American photographer. She photographed a wide range of subjects including strippers, carnival performers, nudists, people with dwarfism, children, mothers, couples, elderly people, and middle-class families. She photographed her subjects in familiar settings: their homes, on the street, in the workplace, in the park. "She is noted for expanding notions of acceptable subject matter and violates canons of the appropriate distance between photographer and subject. By befriending, not objectifying her subjects, she was able to capture in her work a rare psychological intensity." In his 2003 New York Times Magazine article, "Arbus Reconsidered", Arthur Lubow states, "She was fascinated by people who were visibly creating their own identities—cross-dressers, nudists, sideshow performers, tattooed men, the nouveaux riches, the movie-star fans—and by those who were trapped in a uniform that no longer provided any security or comfort." Michael Kimmelman writes in his review of the exhibition Diane Arbus Revelations, that her work "transformed the art of photography ". Arbus's imagery helped to normalize marginalized groups and highlight the importance of proper representation of all people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edie Sedgwick</span> American model and actress (1943–1971)

Edith Minturn Sedgwick Post was an American actress, model and socialite who was one of Andy Warhol's superstars, starring in several of his short films during the 1960s. Her prominence led to her being dubbed an "It Girl", while Vogue magazine named her a "Youthquaker".

Warhol superstars were a clique of New York City personalities promoted by the pop artist Andy Warhol during the 1960s and early 1970s. These personalities appeared in Warhol's artworks and accompanied him in his social life. Warhol would simply film them, and declare them "superstars".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Factory</span> Andy Warhols New York City studio

The Factory was Andy Warhol's studio in Manhattan, New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famed for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities, and Warhol's superstars. The original Factory was often referred to as the Silver Factory. In the studio, Warhol's workers would make silkscreens and lithographs under his direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Arbus</span> American actor and photographer (1918-2013)

Allan Franklin Arbus was an American actor and photographer. He was the former husband of photographer Diane Arbus. He is known for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Freedman on the CBS television series M*A*S*H.

Doon Arbus is an American writer and journalist. Her debut novel is The Caretaker. Her play, Third Floor, Second Door on the Right, was produced at the Cherry Lane Theatre by the 2003 New York International Fringe Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaby Hoffmann</span> American actress (born 1982)

Gabrielle Mary Antonia Hoffmann is an American actress. She made her film debut in Field of Dreams (1989) and found success as a child actress in Uncle Buck (1989), This Is My Life (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and then later as a teenager with Now and Then (1995), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Volcano (1997), All I Wanna Do (1998), and 200 Cigarettes (1999).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candy Darling</span> American actress (1944–1974)

Candy Darling was an American transgender actress, best known as a Warhol superstar. She starred in Andy Warhol's films Flesh (1968) and Women in Revolt (1971), and was a muse of the Velvet Underground.

<i>Factory Girl</i> (2006 film) 2006 film by George Hickenlooper

Factory Girl is a 2006 American biographical film directed by George Hickenlooper. It is based on the rapid rise and fall of 1960s underground film star and socialite Edie Sedgwick, known for her association with the artist Andy Warhol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viva (actress)</span> American actress and former Warhol superstar

Janet Susan Mary Hoffmann, known professionally as Viva, is an American actress, writer and former Warhol superstar.

<i>Blue Movie</i> 1969 film by Andy Warhol

Blue Movie is a 1969 American erotic film written, produced and directed by Andy Warhol. It is the first adult erotic film depicting explicit sex to receive wide theatrical release in the United States, and is regarded as a seminal film in the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984). The film stars Warhol superstars Viva and Louis Waldon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isabelle Collin Dufresne</span> French-American artist and author (1935–2014)

Isabelle Collin Dufresne, known professionally as Ultra Violet, was a French-American artist, author, and both a colleague of Andy Warhol and one of his so-called Superstars. Earlier in her career, she worked for and studied with surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. Dufresne lived and worked in New York City, and also had a studio in Nice, France.

Jane Holzer, is an American art collector and real estate investor. She is best known as a Warhol superstar, and she also worked as a model, actress, and film producer. Nicknamed Baby Jane Holzer, she appeared on the cover of British Vogue in 1964, and she was referred to as one of the "fashion revolutionaries" by Women's Wear Daily in 1966.

Lynn Goldsmith is an American recording artist, film director, celebrity portrait photographer, and rock and roll photographer. She has also made fine art photography with conceptual images and with her painting. Books of her work have been published by Taschen, Rizzoli, and Abrams. In 1985, she received a World Press Photo award. In the 1980s, she wrote songs and performed as Will Powers. In 2023, she was part of a U.S. Supreme Court case dealing with the limits of fair use concerning a series of Andy Warhol silkscreen portraits based on a Goldsmith photo of the musician Prince.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Goldsmith</span> American journalist

Barbara Goldsmith was an American author, journalist, and philanthropist. She received critical and popular acclaim for her best-selling books, essays, articles, and her philanthropic work. She was awarded four honoris causa doctorates, and numerous awards; been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, two Presidential Commissions, and the New York State Council on the Arts; and honored by The New York Public Library Literary Lions as well as the Literacy Volunteers, the American Academy in Rome, The Authors Guild, and the Guild Hall Academy of Arts for Lifetime Achievement. In 2009, she received the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit medal from the Republic of Poland. In November 2008, Goldsmith was elected a “Living Landmark” by the New York Landmarks Conservancy. She has three children and six grandchildren. The Financial Times declared that "Goldsmith is leaving a legacy—one of art, literature, friends, family and philanthropy."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tally Brown</span> American actress

Tally Brown was an American singer and actress who was part of the New York underground performance scene, particularly Andy Warhol's "Factory" and who appeared in or was the subject of films by Andy Warhol and Rosa von Praunheim. She was born and died in New York City.

Margo Feiden was the proprietor of Margo Feiden Galleries Ltd. located at 15 East 9th Street in New York City. She was also a producer, director, author, and playwright.

Geraldine Smith is an American actress. She is best known for having been a Warhol superstar, starring in the film Flesh (1968).

<i>Orange Prince</i> 1984 painting by Andy Warhol

Orange Prince is a painting by American artist Andy Warhol of Prince, the American singer, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, actor, and director. The painting is one of twelve silkscreen portraits on canvas of Prince created by Warhol in 1984, based on an original photograph provided to Warhol by Vanity Fair. The photograph was taken by Lynn Goldsmith. These paintings and four additional works on paper are collectively known as the Prince Series. Each painting is unique and can be distinguished by colour.

Jane Forth is an American actress, model, and make-up artist. She is best known for having been a Warhol superstar, starring in the films Trash (1970) and L'Amour (1972). She was also one of “Antonio’s Girls”, a muse of fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez.

References

  1. ↑ Henig, Samantha (2013-07-11). "Viva la Viva: Gaby Hoffmann's Mother Also Made for Interesting Reading". The 6th Floor Blog. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  2. ↑ "Barbara Goldsmith, best-selling chronicler of the (unhappily) rich and famous, dies at 85". Bangor Daily News . 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Thatcher, Jennifer (2022-04-21). Lives of the interview: the development of the artist interview in twentieth-century Britain and the United States (Thesis). University Of Edinburgh, University Of Edinburgh, Neil Mulholland. pp. 143–157. doi:10.7488/ERA/2141.
  4. 1 2 Grimes, William (30 June 2016). "Barbara Goldsmith, 85, author of 'Little Gloria' - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  5. ↑ Ferla, Ruth La (2017-09-27). "Viva: A Warhol-Era Superstar Wants the Last Word". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  6. ↑ Bonanos, Christopher (2016-04-21). "The Diane Arbus Photo That Almost Killed New York Magazine". The Cut. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  7. 1 2 Bosworth, Patricia (1984-05-13). "DIANE ARBUS, HER VISION, LIFE, AND DEATH". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  8. ↑ Wolfe, Tom (2008-07-03). "A City Built of Clay". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.