The Autobiography and Sex Life of Andy Warhol

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The Autobiography and Sex Life of Andy Warhol Andywarholjohnwilcock.jpg
The Autobiography and Sex Life of Andy Warhol

The Autobiography and Sex Life of Andy Warhol (ISBN   978-0-9706126-1-8) is a 1971 book by the British journalist John Wilcock. It was republished in June 2010 by Trela Media.

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

Book medium for a collection of words and/or pictures to represent knowledge or a fictional story, often manifested in bound paper and ink, or in e-books

As a physical object, a book is a stack of usually rectangular pages oriented with one edge tied, sewn, or otherwise fixed together and then bound to the flexible spine of a protective cover of heavier, relatively inflexible material. The technical term for this physical arrangement is codex. In the history of hand-held physical supports for extended written compositions or records, the codex replaces its immediate predecessor, the scroll. A single sheet in a codex is a leaf, and each side of a leaf is a page.

The book is a collection of oral interviews with some of Warhol's closest associates and superstars, including Leo Castelli, Charles Henri Ford, Henry Geldzahler, Gerard Malanga, Nico, Ultra Violet, Viva, Lou Reed, and Mario Amaya.

Leo Castelli American art dealer

Leo Castelli was an Italian-American art dealer. His gallery showcased contemporary art for five decades. Among the movements which Castelli showed were Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Neo-Dada, Pop Art, Op Art, Color field painting, Hard-edge painting, Lyrical Abstraction, Minimal Art, Conceptual Art, and Neo-expressionism.

Charles Henri Ford was an American poet, novelist, diarist, filmmaker, photographer, and collage artist. He published more than a dozen collections of poetry, exhibited his artwork in Europe and the United States, edited the Surrealist magazine View (1940–1947) in New York City, and directed an experimental film. He was the partner of the artist Pavel Tchelitchew.

Henry Geldzahler was a Belgian-born American curator of contemporary art in the late 20th century, as well as a historian and critic of modern art. He is best known for his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and as New York City Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, and for his social role in the art world with a close relationship with contemporary artists.

History

John Wilcock was introduced to Andy Warhol through filmmaker Jonas Mekas, assisting on some of Warhol's early films, hanging out at his parties and quickly becoming a regular at The Factory. “About six months after I started hanging out at the old, silvery Factory on West 47th Street,” Wilcock later reflected, “[Gerard] Malanga came up to me and asked, ‘When are you going to write something about us?'” [1] The book's title, originally suggested to Wilcock by Paul Morrissey, is misleading; the book is neither an autobiography nor a sexual exposé. [2] Despite its small initial printing, the book was sold for upwards of $75 at some of the world's top art museums. [3]

Andy Warhol American artist

Andy Warhol was an American artist, director and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture, and advertising that flourished by the 1960s, and span a variety of media, including painting, silkscreening, photography, film, and sculpture. Some of his best known works include the silkscreen paintings Campbell's Soup Cans (1962) and Marilyn Diptych (1962), the experimental film Chelsea Girls (1966), and the multimedia events known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (1966–67).

Jonas Mekas Lithuanian filmmaker

Jonas Mekas was a Lithuanian American filmmaker, poet, and artist who has often been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema". His work has been exhibited in museums and festivals worldwide.

The Factory Andy Warhols New York City studio

The Factory was Andy Warhol's New York City studio, which had three different locations between 1962 and 1984. The original Factory was on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street, in Midtown Manhattan. The rent was one hundred dollars per year. Warhol left in 1967 when the building was scheduled to be torn down to make way for an apartment building. He then relocated his studio to the sixth floor of the Decker Building at 33 Union Square West near the corner of East 16th Street, where he was shot in 1968 by Valerie Solanas. The Factory was revamped and remained there until 1973. It moved to 860 Broadway at the north end of Union Square. Although this space was much larger, not much filmmaking took place there. In 1984 Warhol moved his remaining ventures, no longer including filming, to 22 East 33rd Street, a conventional office building. Many Warhol films, including those made at the Factory, were first shown at the New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre or 55th Street Playhouse.

A review by Branden W. Joseph of Harvard University credited the “virtually self-published” volume as a trendsetter in Warhol studies, praising the “unassuming, slightly irreverent” tribute for the way it “cleverly engaged with Warhol’s self-fashioned image, reinforcing the impression that Warhol had nothing to say on his own behalf.” [3]

Harvard University private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with about 6,700 undergraduate students and about 15,250 post graduate students. Established in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, clergyman John Harvard, Harvard is the United States' oldest institution of higher learning, and its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the world's most prestigious universities.

Related Research Articles

Valerie Solanas American radical and writer. Attempted to assassinate Andy Warhol

Valerie Jean Solanas was an American radical feminist and author best known for writing the SCUM Manifesto, which she self-published in 1967, and attempting to murder Andy Warhol in 1968.

<i>Batman Dracula</i> 1964 film by Andy Warhol

Batman Dracula is a 1964 black and white American film produced and directed by Andy Warhol, without the permission of DC Comics, publishers of comics about the character Batman.

<i>I Shot Andy Warhol</i> 1996 film by Mary Harron

I Shot Andy Warhol is a 1996 American-British independent film about the life of Valerie Solanas and her relationship with the artist Andy Warhol. The film marked the feature film directorial debut of Canadian director Mary Harron. The film stars Lili Taylor as Valerie, Jared Harris as Andy Warhol, and Martha Plimpton as Valerie's friend Stevie. Stephen Dorff plays Warhol superstar Candy Darling. John Cale of The Velvet Underground wrote the film's score despite protests from former band member Lou Reed. Yo La Tengo plays an anonymous band that is somewhat reminiscent of the group.

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, epitomizing his famous dictum, "In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes". Warhol would simply film them, and declare them "superstars".

Gerard Malanga American photographer and poet

Gerard Joseph Malanga is an American poet, photographer, filmmaker, curator and archivist.

15 minutes of fame is short-lived media publicity or celebrity of an individual or phenomenon. The expression was inspired by Andy Warhol's words "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes", which appeared in the program for a 1968 exhibition of his work at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden. Photographer Nat Finkelstein claimed credit for the expression, stating that he was photographing Warhol in 1966 for a proposed book. A crowd gathered trying to get into the pictures and Warhol supposedly remarked that everyone wants to be famous, to which Finkelstein replied, "Yeah, for about fifteen minutes, Andy." The phenomenon is often used in reference to figures in the entertainment industry or other areas of popular culture, such as reality television and YouTube.

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

Blue Movie is a 1969 American film written, produced, and directed by Andy Warhol. Blue Movie, the first adult erotic film depicting explicit sex to receive wide theatrical release in the United States, is a seminal film in the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984) and helped inaugurate the "porno chic" phenomenon in modern American culture, and later, in many other countries throughout the world. According to Warhol, Blue Movie was a major influence in the making of Last Tango in Paris, an internationally controversial erotic drama film, starring Marlon Brando, and released a few years after Blue Movie was made. Viva and Louis Waldon, playing themselves, starred in Blue Movie.

<i>Vinyl</i> (1965 film) 1965 film by Andy Warhol

Vinyl is a 1965 American black-and-white experimental film directed by Andy Warhol at The Factory. It is an early adaptation of Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange, starring Gerard Malanga, Edie Sedgwick, Ondine, and Tosh Carillo, and featuring such songs as "Nowhere to Run" by Martha and the Vandellas, "Tired of Waiting for You" by The Kinks, "The Last Time" by The Rolling Stones and "Shout" by The Isley Brothers.

Isabelle Collin Dufresne French-American artist, author, and former colleague and superstar of Andy Warhol

Isabelle Collin Dufresne was a French-American artist, author, and both a colleague of Andy Warhol and one of the pop artist's 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.

<i>A, A Novel</i> book by Andy Warhol

a, A Novel is a 1968 book by the American artist Andy Warhol published by Grove Press. It is a nearly word-for-word transcription of tapes recorded by Warhol and Ondine over a two-year period in 1965–1967.

Exploding Plastic Inevitable series of events organized by Andy Warhol

The Exploding Plastic Inevitable, sometimes simply called Plastic Inevitable or EPI, was a series of multimedia events organized by Andy Warhol between 1966 and 1967, featuring musical performances by The Velvet Underground and Nico, screenings of Warhol's films, and dancing and performances by regulars of Warhol's Factory, especially Mary Woronov and Gerard Malanga. Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable is also the title of an 18-minute film by Ronald Nameth with recordings from one week of performances of the shows which were filmed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1966. In December 1966 Warhol included a one-off magazine called The Plastic Exploding Inevitable as part of the Aspen No. 3 package.

John Wilcock was a British journalist known for his work in the underground press, as well as his travel guide books.

Susan Bottomly, also known as International Velvet, is a former American model and actress. She is known for her appearances in several of Andy Warhol's underground films.

Since is a 1966 film directed by Andy Warhol about the assassination of the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. The film reconstructs the assassination with both Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson present, both before and after the event. The roles in Since are performed by Warhol's "superstars" from The Factory.

Barbara Rubin American filmmaker

Barbara Rubin was an American filmmaker and performance artist. She is best known for her landmark 1963 underground film, Christmas on Earth.

Garrick Cinema former movie theater in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, United States

The Garrick Cinema—periodically referred to as the New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre, Andy Warhol's Garrick Cinema, Garrick Theatre, Nickelodeon—was a 199-seat movie house located in Greenwich Village at 152 Bleecker Street, Lower Manhattan, New York City. Andy Warhol debuted many of his notable films in this building in the late 1960s. The Cafe Au Go Go was located in the basement of the theater building in the late 1960s, and was a prominent Greenwich Village night club, featuring many well known musical groups, folksingers and comedy acts.

55th Street Playhouse former movie theater in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States

The 55th Street Playhouse—periodically referred to as the 55th Street Cinema and Europa Theatre—was a 253-seat movie house at 154 West 55th Street, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that opened on May 20, 1927. Many classic art and foreign-language films, including those by Jean Cocteau, Sergei Eisenstein, Federico Fellini, Abel Gance, Fritz Lang, and Orson Welles, were featured at the theater. Later, Andy Warhol presented many of his notable films in this building in the late 1960s. Other notable films were also shown at the theater, including Boys in the Sand (1971) and Him (1974).

<i>Untitled from Marilyn Monroe</i>

Untitled from Marilyn Monroe (1967) is one of a portfolio of ten 36 x 36 silkscreened prints by the pop artist Andy Warhol, showcasing 1950's controversial film star Marilyn Monroe after her passing in 1962, creating an intersection of art, glamour and death. The original image was borrowed by Warhol from a promotional still captured by Gene Kornman and released for the film Niagara (1953) featuring Monroe, raising questions on the extent of artistic appropriation. The cropped and ultimately untouched images have since been recognised as iconic and influential on contemporary art, forming the foundations of what is now known as pop art.

References

  1. ↑ Wilcock, John (2010). The Autobiography and Sex Life of Andy Warhol. New York: Trela Media. ISBN   978-0-9706126-1-8
  2. ↑ Fones, Sarah (June 10, 2010). "Now Reading: A Warhol Tell-All". New York Times Style Magazine. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
  3. 1 2 Sorenson, Saundra (September 7, 2006). "Mr. Underground". VC Reporter. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
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