Einer der wichtigsten Zeitzeugen der Warhol-Ära ist soeben verstorben - der Fotograf Billy Name, der sich rühmen darf Andy Warhols Loft den kompletten Silver-Look verpasst zu haben. Dieses allererste Atelier war unter Insidern auch als die Silver Factory bekannt.
In dem soeben erschienen neuen Warhol-Buch 'Warhol: Factory' von Fotograf Stephen Shore äussert sich Billy Name selber zu dem Geschehen: “Andy and I were hanging around together. I had an apartment on the Lower East Side, where I had haircutting salons. Hundreds of people would come, and I’d be cutting someone’s hair. Andy came. When he first started making films, he made films about what a person was famous for,” Billy, whose real name was William Linich Jr., recalled. “I was famous for giving haircuts, so he said, “Would you let me do a film of you doing haircuts?” [Haircut, 1963] I had covered my entire apartment in silver foil and painted everything silver. Andy said, “Well, I just got a new loft [the Factory]; would you do to it what you’ve done to your apartment?” I said, “Oh, sure, let’s do it.” So, I started doing it. I was a technician— I’d been a light designer for [Manhattan dance theatre] the Judson Church. I also worked for some off-Broadway theater and avant-garde dance companies. I installed all the lighting at the Factory, all the sound systems.”
Als Dank für das Make-over des Lofts gab Warhol Billy Name eine Rolle in der Factory-Familie: “I was into light and sound before, but not photography,” so Billy und führt aus: “Andy had a still camera, but he had gotten the Bolex. He was going to start to do films, and he gave me the Pentax and said, “Here, Billy, you do the still photography; I’m going to start making films.” I became the in-house photographer and was sort of like the foreman. Eventually I moved in.”
Mehr über Billy, Andy und die Factory sowie viele schöne Fotos von Stephen Shore findet man im Buch.
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