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I’ll come right out and say it: I sort of idolize Andy Warhol. And yeah, that’s definitely a pretty easy thing to right now, since the eighties came back around again and all that, but I really do think that Warhol was to the second half of the 20th century what Picasso was to the first. I have all the research papers to back it up, too; I’ve written three.

So, this movie coming out about Edie Sedgwick, “Factory Girl,” has two main problems that become apparent just from the trailer. Namely, they are Guy Peirce and Hayden Christenson, the dreamboats cast to play Warhol and Dylan, respectively (though Dylan has been fictionalized in this movie - the character’s name is Billy Quinn, which is lame.) I think one thing we can say about both Warhol and Dylan is that neither of them were, even when they were young, extraordinarily attractive people, so like, what the fuck. Casting these two dudes may give us some indication of what I’m afraid this movie is going to be: sort of stupid.

I really hope not. Warhol and Dylan’s battle over Edie Sedgwick is sort of an allegory for the forces that were shaping the American cultural consciousness. It would be a real shame to waste this making some superficial bullshit movie packed with celebrities. And everyone will be running around talking about how much they adore Warhol and what an impact he had and all that - like getting all into Nirvana after Kurt Cobain done killed hisself.

The cold comes with weight.
Huge burdens of thought, rife with
triviality.

—–

Now light comes early.
A jarring reminder of
so much wasted time.

—–

Leafless and gnarled,
they make reference to what,
these icons of guilt?

Sorry about not writing anything… I’m caught up in my other project at Culture Warrior, plus its the end of the semester. I’ll be sure and post a Friday Photographer tomorrow, and then you’ll start hearing from me again more regularly after Monday.
Thanks!

Alec Soth has written an interesting post that deals, among other things, with the use of people in photography and the inherent exploitation attached. He writes:

Are we supposed to erase images of people to make photographs palatable for the art market? I suppose people are disturbed by the idea of, in the words of Shulman, ‘using people.’ It is disturbing. Photographs of people use people. It makes us uncomfortable. But it is also what makes the medium so potent.

Photographers shy away from people for a lot of different reasons, but I know that I often find myself doing it for this one. Liberal guilt.

I always feel kind of cheap when I basically rip off a story from the New York Times, but that’s what I’m going to do. I just came across this article in today’s Arts section about a proposed skyscaper in St. Petersburg that is causing controversy because it’s going to be like 800 ft taller than any other building in town. The building is going to be the headquarters of Russia’s largest corporation and will anchor a new business district right on the Neva River. Said the company’s CEO of the plans:

“This new, modern project will give birth to a new mentality for St. Petersburg, which lives in a new, modern civilization,” said Mr. Miller, appearing with the city’s governor, Valentina I. Matviyenko. “And its citizens will feel the pulse of the new economy, the pulse of the contemporary world.”

So I’m all for progress. And looking at this rendering, it’s not a bad looking building. But, like. Come on. I think an important part of designing a beautiful structure is taking into account the surrounding area. And height isn’t everything. A building this high will be able to be seen from everywhere in the city when in point of fact, it’s probably not that important to the culture of St. Petersburg. So why make it a focal point for the entire city?

That’s a stupid question to ask, so let me point out that it’s rhetorical. They obviously want everyone looking at them. They’re this building so that everyone will who sees it, everyone in St. Petersburg, will have Gazprom on their mind. It’s all marketing, which is stupid.

As if she needs any more attention! But I can’t help it. Jessica is really good, 20 years old and goes to Cooper Union. She’s blowing up. She has shown 12 times since 2004 all over North America, has a whole roster of print clients AND we happened to have gone to the same high school at the same time. She’s friends with Emily Grenader, a longtime friend of mine, Cooper Union student and future Friday photographer.

Anyway, Jessica is amazing. She shoots pretty mundane subjects, which is something I love, using a 6×9 medium format camera, meaning she gets great detail with a 2:3 ratio identical to 35mm. I totally have to get one of those.