The Factory
The image Andy Warhol and members of The Factory was taken inside of The Factory, which was Andy Warhol's studio. The Factory held parties for emerging and aspiring artists. The Factory regulars would create and experiment in the walls of the buildings. There were three locations of The Factory between 1963 and 1984, the original being at 231 East 47th Street, and the others being at 33 Union Square West, and 860 Broadway. In 1969 at the 33 Union Square West location, it was almost reformed into a regular office after Warhol survived an attempted assassination by a radical feminist named Valerie Solanas. This was also around the time that Warhol co-founded the Interview magazine. This image encapsulates the essence of The Factory and the vibe of the people present there. It was known that people from all professions and walks of life enjoyed time in The Factory, making it a hub for societal change when being put in a spotlight like it was after Avedon's photo. The Factory was famous for making the public uncomfortable. Within the walls, there was drug use, sex, and a queer presence, which freaked people out. Experimental films were created in The Factory; such as Chelsea Girls, a 3-hour-long film that includes unedited conversations and monologues from Warhol’s “superstars” in the Chelsea Hotel. The films created in The Factory exposed what really went on- the conversations, the drug use, sex acts, and the unfiltered expression of the artists that entered; whether that be their unedited words or their art. It was a space where the convention was upended and art was created in collaboration with emerging pop culture figures like Candy Darling, a popular artist in 1969 who was transgender. What we see in Andy Warhol and The Factory is the diversity of the studio and its guests, and how they all worked collaboratively toward a common goal, to make art and express themselves.