Andy Warhol's Factory People

The 1st installment in a 3-part oral history, Welcome to the Silver Factory introduces the members of Andy Warhol's inner circle and their dazzling world of art, parties, drugs, and drama In the 1st volume of this fascinating oral history based on her documentary Andy Warhol's Factory People, Catherine O'Sullivan Shorr illuminates the early years of Andy Warhol's Factory scene through interviews with the artist's collaborators, close friends, and many associates who became superstars. Frustrated with advertising work, Warhol set up his legendary studio in 1962 in an abandoned hat factory on Manhattan's 47th Street. Rechristened and redecorated as the "Silver Factory," it quickly became the hub of Warhol's creative endeavors-the place where he constantly worked while an ever-changing cast of characters and muses passed through with their own contributions.   Photos by the Factory's in-house photographer, Billy Name; candid interviews with Factory veterans like Ultra Violet, Mary Woronov, Taylor Mead, and Gerard Malanga; and discussions with chroniclers of the scene such as Victor Bockris and Henry Geldzahler provide revealing glimpses into life with Warhol. Working with silk-screen images of Marilyn Monroe, Campbell's soup cans, and Brillo boxes, Warhol pioneered Pop Art during the early 1960s, and O'Sullivan's assemblage of firsthand accounts expose the eccentric, elusive, and obsessive man behind the iconic art.

The 2nd volume of an intimate oral history, Speeding into the Future vividly recounts how Andy Warhol and his superstars revolutionized both the art world and the nature of celebrity in the mid-1960s Spanning from 1965 through 1966, 2 years that could be considered the pinnacle of Andy Warhol's creative output, Speeding into the Future features firsthand accounts of life inside the Silver Factory. Powered by a steady supply of amphetamines, Quaaludes, and other drugs, the artists and misfits of the Factory crowd generated Warhol's controversial films and art while their own star-quotients rose and declined-and as they fell in and out of love with one another.   During this period, Warhol created the notion of the "It Girl" by declaring debutante Edie Sedgwick the 1965 "Girl of the Year" and predicting her skyrocketing yet short-lived fame; he introduced German-born singer Nico to Lou Reed and John Cale of the Velvet Underground, hosting their rehearsals at the Factory; and codirected, with Paul Morrissey, his most commercially successful film, Chelsea Girls, featuring Nico, Brigid Berlin, Ondine, and other superstars. Speeding into the Future includes revelatory images snapped by Billy Name and other photographers as Bob Dylan visited the Factory, and goes behind the scenes of Warhol's films of Ondine, Ultra Violet, Taylor Mead, and Viva. In this powerful chronicle, Catherine O'Sullivan Shorr captures the events of these dizzying, outrageous years through the words of those who lived through them.

Catherine O'Sullivan Shorr sheds light on the infamous Silver Factory's final years in the conclusion of this exhilarating, uncensored oral history The late 1960s brought seismic shifts to Andy Warhol and life at the Silver Factory. The hub of his avant-garde scene shifted from the Factory on Manhattan's 47th Street to the downtown bar Max's Kansas City; new stars like drag queens Jackie Curtis, Holly Woodlawn, and Candy Darling began to replace Warhol's old favorites; and a shocking act of violence left him paranoid and mistrusting of even his closest friends. Told by the actors, artists, writers, and hangers-on who populated and defined the Factory, Your Fifteen Minutes Are Up is an unprecedented exposé of these tumultuous times.   By 1967, it seemed to many that the Factory had outlived its 15 minutes of fame. Superstars like Edie Sedgwick, who had reached the height of fame only the year before, were now running out of money and falling victim to drug addiction. Some Factory dwellers had falling-outs with Warhol, while others, like Lou Reed and John Cale of the Velvet Underground, got caught up in disputes of their own. When radical feminist Valerie Solanas shot and nearly killed Warhol, the artist had already relocated to the White Factory in Union Square, leading to further rifts within the group. Intimate interviews with scene insiders and candid photos from Billy Name portray the true stories behind the legends and mystique of the Silver Factory.

Based on the television documentary: A three-part oral history of the Pop Art sensation's inner circle and their dazzling world of art, drugs, and drama. Featuring a new introduction by the author, special to this collection, this three-part companion volume to Emmy Award–winning Catherine O'Sullivan Shorr's documentary Andy Warhol's Factory People is an unprecedented exposé of an exhilarating and tumultuous time in the 1960s New York City art world-told by the artists, actors, writers, musicians, and hangers-on who populated and defined the Factory. Welcome to the Silver Factory: In 1962, frustrated with advertising work, Warhol sets up his legendary studio in an abandoned hat factory on Manhattan's 47th Street. The "Silver Factory" quickly becomes the hub of Warhol's creative endeavors-the space where he constantly works while an ever-changing cast of characters and muses passes through with their own contributions. Speeding into the Future: In a peak period from 1965 through 1966, Warhol creates the notion of the "It Girl" with ingenuous debutante Edie Sedgwick; discovers Lou Reed, the Velvet Underground, and Nico, the gorgeous chanteuse who becomes his next "It Girl"; and directs-with Paul Morrissey-his most commercially successful film, the art house classic, Chelsea Girls. Your Fifteen Minutes Are Up: By 1967, it seems that the Factory has outlived its fifteen minutes of fame. Superstars like Edie Sedgwick fall victim to drugs. Factory denizens have falling-outs with Warhol, as do the Velvet Underground, who are also caught up in disputes of their own. Into the chaos comes radical feminist Valerie Solanas, who shoots Warhol and seriously injures him. He survives-barely-but the artist, and his art, are forever changed.