cover image Contact Warhol: Photography Without End

Contact Warhol: Photography Without End

helan and Richard Meyer. MIT Press and the Cantor Arts Center, $34.95 (232p) ISBN 978-0-262-03899-7

In this hybrid photo anthology and critical discussion, Phelan (Unmarked) and Meyer (What Was Contemporary Art?) unveil a collection of previously unpublished Andy Warhol images, and, in rather dense essays, provide fascinating insight into the work of the prolific artist. The core of the book consists of photos and selected images from 3,600 contact sheets acquired by Stanford’s Cantor Center, a sort of analog memory card from before the digital age. These sheets give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at Warhol’s photographic process as well as his passion for photography as an art. The authors show the work that went into capturing many of Warhol’s famous images, such as his silk screen painting of Liza Minnelli: photos taken of the session itself show people posing with her in the background. Many of the images here, such as Bianca Jagger shaving under her arms while lounging on a couch in a cocktail dress, expose the effort required in maintaining a glamorous image. Other images focus on sexuality and gender (there’s a chapter subtitled “Andy Warhol on Drag”), highlighting the struggles gay men faced during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Though the writing can be academic, Phelan and Meyer wonderfully demonstrate how Warhol’s life and career continue to surprise even today. [em](Sept.) [/em]