Andy Warhol's Interview

by Andy Warhol, Ingrid Sischy, Jeff Koons

Founded by Andy Warhol and Gerard Malanga in 1969, and celebrating its fortieth anniversary in 2009, Interview magazine has developed from the newsletter of the Studio 54 set into the definitive guide to the stars of today and tomorrow. Interview's brilliant conception was to invite celebrities who might be fans of one another's work to interview each other, eliciting often intimate and revelatory results. Alongside these interviews are photographs by the cream of celebrity and fashion photography--Robert Mapplethorpe, Francesco Scavullo, Herb Ritts, Ara Gallant, Peter Beard, Bruce Weber, Perry Berenson and others--who are given the opportunity to make some of their most challenging and original work. For 40 years, Interview has offered a fresh perspective on the sexy, fascinating and funny people who shape popular culture.

996 pages, Hardcover

First published December 2, 2004

About the author

Andy Warhol was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol is considered one of the most important American artists of the second half of the 20th century. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, advertising, and celebrity culture that flourished by the 1960s, and span a variety of media, including painting, silkscreening, photography, film, and sculpture. Some of his best-known works include the silkscreen paintings Campbell's Soup Cans (1962) and Marilyn Diptych (1962), the experimental films Empire (1964) and Chelsea Girls (1966), and the multimedia events known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (1966–67).

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andy Warhol's Interview magazine celebrates its 35th anniversary (in 2004) with this spectacular seven-volume retrospective of its first decade. It's a massive, definitive reference that cuts a wide swath through '70s pop culture with vibrant and energetic interviews and photos. It also has the visceral impact of an objet d'art (the books are housed in a Karl Lagerfeld–designed crate with wheels and a retractable handle). The selected interviews and photos from the first decade have not been reset or resized; each 12"×15" volume offers exact reprints of the magazine's original pages (including spelling errors and original ads).

Each volume is a treasure trove of sparkling, uninhibited and entertaining chats with icons on the rise (Bette Midler, Jack Nicholson, Lily Tomlin), underground favorites (John Waters, Holly Woodlawn, Mary Woronov), living legends (Bette Davis, Butterfly McQueen, Gloria Swanson) and those who defined the '70s (Rona Barrett, Halston, Calvin Klein). The Covers (which runs 160 pages) reproduces every cover from Interview 's first decade in full color. The Pictures (276 pages) features photo shoots by Robert Mapplethorpe, Herb Ritts, Bruce Weber, Francesco Scavullo and others. The Interviews (348 pages) offers 123 profiles, including ones of Muhammad Ali, the Andrews Sisters, Gore Vidal, the Talking Heads and Tennessee Williams. The Andy Warhol Interviews (320 pages) are 77 interviews conducted by Warhol, with such personalities as John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Sophia Loren, and Michael Jackson. The Fashion (172 pages) chats with designers like Versace, Edith Head and Yves Saint Laurent. The Directors (148 pages) includes portraits of 45 directors ranging from Cukor, Hitchcock and Capra to the younger generation of Wertmuller, Spielberg and Altman. The final volume is The Back of the Book , a slim (64 pages) collection of Fran Lebowitz's "I Cover the Waterfront" columns.

What makes Interview 's conversations unique is their free-for-all spirit. Warhol brought friends to interviews and taped the marathon session. Transcripts include interruptions for ordering food and drop-by celebrity appearances. Sometimes even the interviewers shine: a star-struck Angelica Huston interviews Mae West; 12-year-old Tatum O'Neal visits Seventh Avenue designers; and Anthony Perkins meets his future wife, Berry Berenson, when she interviews him. The vastness of this undertaking is matched by the pleasures found on every page.

I interviewed INTERVIEW's Editor In Chief Ingrid Sischy for PUBLISHERS WEEKLY in 2004:

PW: What was the gestation period of creating the seven-volume Andy Warhol's Interview: The Best of the First Decade, 1969—1979?

Ingrid Sischy: Publishers have been telling us for 10 years that we were sitting on a gold mine of material that offered a thorough history of certain worlds like film, fashion and music. Karl Lagerfeld suggested doing a single book for the magazine's 35th anniversary this year. We assumed we'd be plucking from three decades of history. Nine of our editors decided to take a weekend to sit down and look through all our old issues. People were spellbound. There was a wonderful, peaceful sound of people absorbed in reading the material. By the end of the weekend, we realized there was so much great, timely material that it would be insane to put out one book on 35 years of history. We decided to do a series, starting with the first decade.

PW: How did you decide to divide the content into volumes?

IS: There was so much material, it was difficult to trim down a decade worth of material to just seven volumes. We could have had one whole volume of just the incredible series of interviews Truman Capote did for us, or a whole book of party pictures, or a collection of [former Interview editor] Bob Colacello's "Out" columns. Once we came up with the division of interviews, it was very important that we stay true to the roots of the magazine's underground consciousness. As we chose which interviews to reprint, we kept in mind that in that decade, people like Candy Darling weren't anointed by us, they anointed themselves.

PW: One volume is devoted to interviews conducted by Andy Warhol himself. What was his interviewing style?

IS: Often Andy's interviews were like happenings. Half the world drops by and becomes a part of the interview. Andy often brought along a gang of friends to these interviews, and they taped everything everyone said. These massive, sprawling sessions were brought back, and Pat Hackett [editor of The Andy Warhol Diaries, 1989] would redact them for publication. Andy was a guy who was interested in a zillion things and everyone. He was shy, but reading his interviews you see how good he was at drawing people out. Nothing was off topic.

PW: What is the hallmark of an Interview interview?

IS: People relaxed around Andy. The people being interviewed were as entertained as Andy was. It was fun for all involved. Interviews are dishy but serious. Interruptions were allowed and often could take conversations in different directions. Another hallmark was getting product names in for future free meals or free clothes. As many plugs as possible. The beauty of doing interviews for this magazine is the joy of discovery. We try to get full portraits of people.

PW: How would you describe the decade of the '70s through the eyes of Interview?

IS: The world was full of potential. There was active cross-pollination in the arts. Real barriers were being broken down. It was a great time for movies, art, fashion and culture. There were great breakthroughs on the gay front. It was a great moment of possibility. It was the moment when people began choosing their own circle of friends who would become their surrogate families. Everything was opening up at that moment.