ANDY WARHOL PHOTOGRAPHS

Andy Warhol Photographs are presented by Fotografiska New York in partnership with Hedges Projects. The Hedges Projects is the leading private collection of photography-based work by Andy Warhol. This unique and powerful collection of photographs is visible virtually.

The exhibition examines Warhol’s exploration of gender and identity through two series: Sex Parts and Torsos and Ladies and Gentleman both photographed in the 1970s. The subjects were photographed with a Big Shot Polaroid or a 35mm camera. Many of the Warhol’s subjects who were included in these series were active members in the LGBTQIA+ movement during the 1970’s and fought for equal rights. Most of the photographs were later made into stunning and bold silkscreens.

In Ladies and Gentleman, Black and Latinx models and drag queens stepped in front of the camera and into a kind of immortality. They have become international art and LGBTQIA+ stars. Sex Parts and Torsos features closely cropped images of male and female nude body parts. The line between pornography and art is blurred in this explicit series in its stark representation of intimate body parts and sexual acts. Andy Warhol called them “landscapes” in his diaries and they reveal the challenge Warhol had with his own homosexuality.

The portraits are so powerful and freeing of the models, drag queens and transgender people. Warhol had developed an ever increasing fascination with gender identity and all things outside of society. Candy Darling, Holly Woodlawn and Jackie Curtis were a few of Warhol’s most famous superstars. The models were drafted from the only drag hangout in NYC, The Gilded Grape. Real names are not used only their chosen names. They are reminders of the continuous tragedies and injustice they experienced. They are brave, unwavering and somehow you also feel a seeking in the eyes and pose of people yearning to be free from society’s imposed binds.

If there was an art time portal, what an incredible, kinky visit you would have to Andy Warhol’s Factory during these photo sessions. One can only imagine the banter, the vibe, the music, the sex, the freedom and the drugs as the shoots went on.

Jim Hedges, founder of the Hedges Project, said, “Simply stated, without the camera, there would be no other Warhol works.” These are extremely important works by Andy Warhol that courageously celebrate individual sexuality.