The Andy Warhol Diaries
The six-part Netflix docu-series The Andy Warhol Diaries, produced by Ryan Murphy and directed by Andrew Rossi, takes a strange tack by focusing on the Pop artist’s love life in the period after he was shot by Valerie Solanas in 1968. The near-death experience altered the course of Andy’s life—not only artistically, but socially. His […]
Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed
When I was growing up, John Gnagy’s “Learn to Draw” series on television encouraged everyone, especially kids, how easy it was to draw. I remember that at the end of the show viewers were encouraged to submit artwork for evaluation. My older brother—he might have been about 9—did an absolutely terrific drawing, for which he […]
Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict
Last week was Peggy Guggenheim’s birthday, which elicited numerous posts about her online. It prompted me to re-watch Lisa Immordino Vreeland’s fascinating documentary Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict (2015), which is available for viewing on Amazon Prime. The film benefits from a long-lost taped interview with her that was discovered in a basement. Guggenheim’s life, as […]
San Diego Surf
San Diego Surf (1968) is one of the later films from the period in which Andy Warhol made sexploitation films. These include: My Hustler (1965), I, a Man (1967-68), Bike Boy (1967-68), The Loves of Ondine (1967-68), The Nude Restaurant (1968) Imitation of Christ (1967-69), Lonesome Cowboys (1967-68) and Blue Movie (1968). In terms of […]
Beautiful Darling
[Photo by Anton Perich]Candy Darling (1944-1974) was a later Warhol superstar from the period after the Pop artist was shot by Valerie Solanas and became the producer of Paul Morrissey’s films. Born James L. Slattery, Candy appeared in Flesh (1968-69) and starred in Women in Revolt (1971), Morrissey’s satire of the women’s liberation movement – […]
Trash Humpers
To many critics, Harmony Korine’s last feature Mister Lonely served notice that he had finally mellowed. News that he had gotten married, had a baby, and moved back to his hometown of Nashville was supposed to be the confirmation of this. Mister Lonely, his story about a Michael Jackson impersonator, was completely wacko, but it […]
Face
Andy Warhol’s many silent Screen Tests provide examples of his predilection for the close-up, as do some of his other films, such as Blow Job (1964), Henry Geldzahler (1964), and Outer and Inner Space (1965). Made during his collaborative period with Chuck Wein, Face (1965) has recently been preserved, along with The Velvet Underground in […]
Notes on Marie Menken
As a child I lived only a block from Marie Menken, so that might explain why I always have had a tender spot in my heart for this major pioneer of American avant-garde cinema. Marie and her husband Willard Maas lived in a penthouse apartment at 62 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. Menken is the […]