Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol began working with a Polaroid Big-Shot camera around 1970, and it soon became a central tool within the creation of his large portrait paintings and screen prints. Lacking the ability to zoom or adjust the focus, this camera required the photographer to shoot from a distance of roughly three feet from the subject, imposing a standard size and format on the resulting images. The glare of its flash further homogenized sitters by washing out their features, and Warhol heightened this effect by requiring that all strip, wrap themselves in a sheet, and wear heavy white make-up on their faces and shoulders. With bright red lipstick on, the sitter would then turn and strike a variety of poses in Warhol’s direction. Working quickly to make dozens of Polaroid images, Warhol adapted each sitter to a uniform
conception of glamour, overturning the expected individuality of portraiture in favor of a commercialized product inspired by fashion and runway modeling. He created so many of these images that the identities of the sitters have often been lost.