Minister of Science and Chief Protector of the Faith

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

208 Pictures of Edie Sedgewick

 

Here are 208 Pictures of Edie Sedgewick that I have collected. I have a feeling that Edie Sedgwick would probably be very annoying to meet in person, but after learning about her life I can't help but have a certain voyeristic curiosity about her.

I have never really been a big fan of Andy Warhol. I always thought that he was kind of a lame one-joke wonder. Calling a painting of a Campbell's soup can "art" is funny the first time around, but it gets tired pretty quick. I never really learned much about the man until a friend of mine insisted I read the book "Edie" by Jean Stein and George Plimpton. It was a fairly thick hardback, so I was surprised at how quickly I finished it.

It turned out to be one of those books that you can't stop reading. It was fascinating, not only the story but the way that the book was laid out. I learned more about Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol than I ever thought that I would want to know.

By the end of the book, you wish there could be some sort of happy ending. It's a very sad and lonely book. There are no uplifting moments or philosophical events that strengthen or embolden the character. It is like watching the Titanic slowly sink into the sunset. There is nothing that can be done about it.

It is a story of a poor little rich girl who got lost in the seedy wonderland of Andy Warhol's Factory in the 60's. The book is about Edie's rise to fame and subsequent downfall into obscurity. I find the story of Edie Sedgwick far more interesting than any of the hype about Andy Warhol.

So many books are about men succeeding against all odds against a seemingly endless sea of troubles, or sometimes you even find books about a woman succeeding against all odds against a seemingly endless sea of troubles. This is a book about an endless sea of troubles and the woman who becomes entirely consumed by them.
 

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11 Comments:

At Wed Dec 16, 08:27:00 AM, Blogger Teresita said...

This is a book about an endless sea of troubles and the woman who becomes entirely consumed by them.

I've already got one of those kind of books about a can-do governor of a large state right next to Russia who gets discredited by Katie Couric on national television and resigns in a huff while simultaneously babbling about how she will never stop fighting for real Americans.

 
At Wed Dec 16, 09:52:00 AM, Blogger Christian Zamora said...

I guess it could be an interesting read. I never heard of Edie Sedgwick before, but her story seems interesting (if not a little depressing).

Now, when I first saw those pictures above, I swear I saw Britney Spear.

 
At Wed Dec 16, 10:18:00 AM, Blogger Ubermilf said...

I don't have time to read books.

I am glad you condensed it into one sentence for me. That I have time for.

 
At Wed Dec 16, 10:19:00 AM, Blogger Randal Graves said...

I love happy stories like this!

I'm also very glad that I'm not the only one who finds Mr. Warhol's output really goddamn overrated.

 
At Wed Dec 16, 12:54:00 PM, Blogger Laura said...

I never really paid much attention to the whole Andy Warhol thing. I mean.. I know who he is but.. never cared to dig deeper.
Sounds like an interesting read.
Thanks for the review. You did a great job!!

((Hugs))
Laura

 
At Wed Dec 16, 01:52:00 PM, Blogger D. Debil said...

I really like Warhol's work. But he definitely has a whiff of nihilism about him that I find uncomfortable.

 
At Wed Dec 16, 02:24:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You would like Cant Find My Way Home--The Great American Stoned Age from 1945 to 2000. By Martin Torgoff

There is quite a bit in this book devoted to the NYC underground scene involving Warhol among others.

Fascinating.

 
At Wed Dec 16, 09:42:00 PM, Blogger susan said...

I read that book years ago and felt exactly the same way about it. Of course I also sat through a couple of interminable Warhol films even longer ago so I was familiar with her. I think the Velvet Underground were the only ones of that group to come through intact and interestingly, Lou Reed wrote Femme Fatale about her.

 
At Thu Dec 17, 12:06:00 AM, Blogger Monique D said...

I too read the book years ago, and it's a great read.

Even if Edie hadn't gotten lost in the seedy wonderland of Andy Warhol's Factory in the 60's, she would have gotten lost somewhere else. The deck was stacked against her right from the start.

 
At Thu Dec 17, 03:51:00 AM, Blogger Dr. Zaius said...

Teresita: Yes - but unlike Sarah Palin, Edie Sedgewick had some talent at one point before she threw it all away. ;o)

ComicsAllTooReal's Chris: The intesrting thing about those picutes above is that they were taken in a photo booth. The range of her expressions in just a few seconds might be indicative of her frame of mind. ;o)

Übermilf: Brevity is the new Kindle! ;o)

Randal Graves: Warhol sucks. So does Lichtenstein. :o)

Sunshine: Thanks, Laura! You haven't missed much on the whole Andy Warhol thing. ;o)

D. Debil: I guess it is just a matter of taste. I think Warhol's work is interesting at first glance, but grows vapid quickly. ;o)

Seeing Eye Chick: That sounds interesting! I'll have to look it up. Thanks! :o)

Susan: I found the story so interesting that I even sat through a videotape of Sedgwick's last film, "Ciao! Manhattan". The film is a cinematic train wreck, but it does capture the complete deterioration of Sedgwick’s life.

Monique: You are probably right, Edie Sedgewick would probably crashed and burned even if it had not been for Warhol and his ilk. :o(

 
At Sat Dec 26, 01:02:00 AM, Blogger clark said...

i think you are wrong about warhol, dr. z. check out this bio written two years after his death. people tend to view him as a sort of privileged waif who ruined peoples' lives and had assistants mass-produce 'anti-art'.
the truth is more complicated, of course... and he succeeded honestly and painstakingly. shrewd business moves allowed him to create and sustain quite a little entourage/scene/compound in the '60s. he suffered personally because of his notoriety, leading to an early death from complications of gunshot wounds sustained in a 1968 attack. amazing that he lived 19 years after those injuries -- in constant pain and having to wear a large girdle around his middle, basically to keep his guts from spilling out through the wound.
although some of the factory participants carried out [mostly short] lives of extreme decadence, warhol didn't personally actively participate; choosing instead to stay focused on his artistic output.

 

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