Andy Warhol and William S. Burroughs

More delights at the Photographer's Gallery...

Andy Warhol: Photographs 1976 - 1987
How great to see some of Warhol's black and white photographs in front of you.

While photographic imagery permeated his work as  a painter, filmmaker and colourist, it seems that it was only later in his life that he began to focus on photography in its own right. This coincided with a developing acquaintance with the compact cameras of the 1970s. Apparently he carried a camera with him most of the time and often took more than 36 black and white frames a day. His subjects ranged from the  everyday detail of the street, interiors , signage and cityscapes to people and celebrity parties.

I was delighted to seem some examples of his interest in serial  and repeated imagery..a series of 'stitched' photographs. These  show identical images arranged in grid form and stitched together with a sewing machine.

Turning to the photography of William S. Burroughs ...


Here I have to confess my ignorance of this, I now understand, very influential twentieth century author American novelist, essayist, 'spoken word performer' and painter. The exhibition notes indicate that Burroughs' work as a photographer is rarely acknowledged but this doesn't make me feel any better.

'Taking shots: the Photography of William S. Burroughs is the first exhibition worldwide to focus on his 'vast photographic oeuvre and offer important insights into his creative processes'.

The images above are very small black and white photos reminiscent of those in my parent's family album taken in the late fifties. These and other similar ones strike me as aide memoires for work in progress or at the pre or current planning process...

One series did have significance for me ..

 



The above is part of the Series : What Was , What Isn't - 'these photographs record the before and after of a sexual encounter.The bed becomes a scene in which action, unseen, leaves traces which are then concealed.

Burroughs was concerned with the relation between experience, absence, and presence, and how the camera could evoke something that no longer exists - but also how photographs work to influence and construct memories and desires'. This resonated with me as it is at the very heart of what I am exploring through my personal project