Hanging out with Andy.

I can’t remember what year it was. 1976 or thereabouts. I ran into Simon in the Kings Road and we went for a drink. He was telling me about a trip to New York to interview Andy Warhol.

It was amazing said Simon. Warhol draws people like a magnet. Everybody wants to be famous and he has this knack for just letting people follow their instincts. He has his finger on the American pulse. Simon spent some time in Andy’s studio, the Factory as he calls it. People were drifting in and out all day long doing odd jobs, taking photographs, snorting coke and just hanging out. The closet door is wide open. Simon met all Andy’s superstars and even worked his way into one of Andy’s movies. 

After work they all went to places like Studio 54 which sounds like one big party. Hip people mingling with wealthy socialites. Simon ran into Mick and Bianca. They’re splitting up according to Andy. They were only technically together for about a week anyway. Mick introduced Simon to Ahmet Ertegun, Martin Scorcese and Robert de Niro. Lots of gossip and name-dropping, who’s bonking who and how much money they’ve got. Oh and Truman Capote is working on a new book! You heard it here first. The trick said Andy is to suspend judgment and just go with it. Simon found it all highly amusing. And he made some great contacts. He got his picture taken with Halston AND Liza Minelli!!

So it was a good trip. If you want to be a famous artist….watch a lot of TV and hang out with famous people. I could have said something about sycophants but why bother. He’s happy.Somebody should be doing something like that here, I said. Simon didn’t think something like the Factory could exist in London. The blatant commercialism wouldn’t go over well with Daily Mail readers. Soup cans!?! That’s not real painting! My kid could do that!!

From AW's diary April 1985.......'Peter Max was just a businessman trying to be an artist. He copied me a lot. And now he gets $100,000 for a portrait. Look. Here's how it works. You meet rich people and you hang around with them and one night they've had a few drinks and they say "I'll buy it!" Then they tell their friends, "You must have his work, darling." and that's all you need. I mean it's like Schnabel sitting there with Philip Niarchos. That's all it takes. So you get your price established. Get it?'