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Warhol / Gidal

6 September, 2010

We just received this revealing unpublished transcript of a short conversation between Andy Warhol and Peter Gidal which took place at The Factory on 13th April 1983, just rediscovered by Peter.

AW: So how is everything in England?

PG: Everyone’s poor, things are real bad

AW: It would’ve been better if England had kept the colonies, then things would be ok.

PG: Are you kidding? The rich were even richer, and the poor poorer…

AW: Oh, but then England had all those colonies….

PG: Yeah but can you imagine what it was like then, even worse than now if you were poor, like infant mortality, Andy, life expectancy, c’mon you know about that….

AW: Oh yeah…that’s true….Do you know Lord Jermyn?

PG: Christ Andy, all my friends are out of work filmmakers and teachers!

AW: Why don’t you write something for InterView? Interview some people over there…that’d be great!

PG: I’m no good as a journalist…I spent the last year working on my Beckett book and it’s got ages to go….no good at short journalistic stuff. And I don’t like journalists anyway.

AW: Did you interview Beckett?

PG: No, it’s about his work…

AW: Did ya ever meet him in Paris?

PG: No, met him on the street in London for a few minutes a few times…

AW: You mean you didn’t interview Beckett for your book???

PG: No.

AW: Why not?

PG: I don’t know, it’s not that kind of book, also I’m not really into interviewing people…

AW: Oh….PG:But we’ve had a little correspondence, one letter a year for twelve years….AW:You mean you have real letters from Beckett? Really?!

PG: Just little ones, you know, little notes…it’s his birthday today by the way.

AW: Oh…here are some cards of the Myths series I just did….

PG: Oh yeah, I don’t believe it, Howdy Doody, jesus….

AW: They’re selling real well…

PG: I can imagine, whilst the Hammer and Sickles aren’t selling at all, right?

AW: (laughing) right, impossible, IMPOSSIBLE to sell them….

PG: Right, but Donald Duck sells…and the MAOS?

AW: The Maos we don’t even have any left, we’re buying them back…we issued them on canvas, twelve inches by ten inches, for eight thousand dollars and we’re buying them back because at the Sales at Sotheby’s and Christies they go for about three or four thousand dollars….we’re trying to get them back, like the Marilyns, we dont’t have any left….

PG: Oh…

AW: Hows the underground film scene in London, anyone doing that kind of stuff anymore?

PG: No, nothing like that any more, it isn’t that kind of filmmaking…

AW: I can understand that, now that overground movies are so good…

PG: Well no, it’s not that….it’s that the whole underground thing is over, really, it’s not that kind of movies, its experimental, avant garde , it’s different….

AW: yeah….

PG: you know what I mean…anyway underground was just that word then….

AW: Are you still making films Peter?

PG: Yeah, sure….finished Action at a Distance last year, working on a long one called Close Up…

AW: Oh,… good….So what are you doing in NY?

PG: Visiting friends.

AW: Gosh….who are your friends?

PG: Just friends….

AW: Oh….what do you do when you’re with them?

PG: I dunno, see them, talk, go out to eat….

AW: Oh….you go out together….

PG: Yeah…AW:Gosh, (pointing at my hand) look at those rings! Five of them, are they all marriage rings?

PG: No, this is my great grandfather’s from my great grandmother, this is mine, this isn’t anything, this is a friend’s, and this last one is also from a friend, and some of my friends are jewellers which makes it even more complex….

AW: Oh. Yeah.

Peter Gidal recently wrote a book on Warhol’s Blowjob for the Afterall One Work series which is available from the LUX online shop

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Warhol / Gidal

We just received this revealing unpublished transcript of a short conversation between Andy Warhol and Peter Gidal which took place at The Factory on 13th April 1983, just rediscovered by Peter.

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