After Andy: Adventures in Warhol Land
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,History & Criticism,History
After Andy: Adventures in Warhol Land Details
After Andy is Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni's insider's account of working in Andy Warhol's studio and Interview magazine and explores Warhol's impact on the art world, pop culture, society, and fashion - and how his iconic status gave rise to some of our most influential tastemakers today. Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni met Andy Warhol when she was 16 and then on and off over the years before landing in New York City at the Andy Warhol Studio, or, as she calls it, "Adventures in Warhol Land". In this witty account, she takes listeners deep into the pop artist's world - as well as miles into the stratosphere of the socialites, fashion icons, film stars, rock legends, and art world powerhouses who could be found in his orbit - where she worked with Fred Hughes, Brigid Berlin, Vincent Fremont, and others who were once part of the Factory clan. As the last person hired at the studio before Warhol died in 1987, Fraser-Cavassoni saw firsthand the end of an era and the establishment of a global phenomenon. From the behind-the-scenes disagreements and the assessment of his estate, which included Interview magazine and his art inventory, to the record-breaking auction of his belongings and the publication of his diaries, Fraser-Cavassoni examines the immediate aftermath of Warhol's death and his ever-growing impact, which ranged from New York to Los Angeles and throughout Europe. Interviews with key figures of the art world and dozens of Andy intimates make After Andy and its subject more relevant than ever today.
Reviews
The fizzy champagne writing style could merit a 4 or 5-star review: this book is lively and gossipy and moves along at a bouncy pace. My problem with the book is that the title is a "bait and switch." We get tidbits on Andy Warhol at the start and then a very long digression into the author's memories of a glittering childhood filled with aristocratic British friends and family, drafty but charming old estates, post boarding schools and honorary titles and lots and lots of lovely parties. I thought I was buying a serious account of Andy Warhol's work and the art scene of the 1970s and 1980s, but this book is instead a Beatrix Pottery memoir of a lovely and privileged girlhood that morphed into a lovely and privileged stint as an art assistant in Manhattan. It isn't this woman's fault that she was born to such a storied English background and she is a good writer. Yet since I neither know her nor care that much about her--and especially since I was expecting to read about Andy Warhol -- even the charming bits of her memoir start to grate and seem self-indulgent. (This is especially true when we get to the obligatory set piece about Mick Jagger.) I would like to ask for my money back--not because the book is necessarily bad, but because the cover and title are highly misleading.