CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Remembering Artists From Another Time: Andy Warhol

Warhol in his studio. Photo: Richard Schulman.

My period of making portraits appear in the rear view mirror like a collection of a rogues gallery and the inimitable. My camera has interacted with a lot of art, an army of artists, and art-world figures.

It is something that rests comfortably in the shadows of my archives.

One evening, I huddled with cultural icons of another era: Senator Edward Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Andrew Wyeth and Andy Warhol. The Red Sea parted; the waltz of fame ensued, looking part Fantasia; part Charlton Heston’s The Ten Commandments.

It was me being a Zelig for a few seconds. It was among a few days that I was tapestried in moments, not mine. History is home to many interpretations: I have an affinity for looking back into my history through a slew of negatives and positives.

So many places and faces, I have spent years meandering silently aside the ancient and contemporary phenomena: The inside of my mind appears like bountiful holiday sparklers. In person, I may appear achingly shuffling, like a Mynah bird in heat on heroin and steroidal treats. Yet it is merely me making sense of time behind my camera. So many types of fame........

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