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Andy Warhol

Unidentified Woman (Short Dark Hair), 1980

Description

Maker

  • Andy Warhol, 1928-1987, American

Title

Unidentified Woman (Short Dark Hair)

Year

1980

Medium

Dye diffusion print (Polacolor 2)

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Photographs

Credit

Gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

Object Number

2008.110.43

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Andy Warhol's Photographs

January 31 - June 29, 2014

Changing Poses

November 12, 2010 - June 6, 2011

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.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in Copyright. This object is Unidentified Woman (Short Dark Hair) with the accession number of 2008.110.43. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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