Everyone knows about Eat, Andy Warhol’s short film focussing on one man’s slow ingestion of a singular mushroom. People laugh at it. Hell, I laughed too. It seems ridiculous and self indulgent, Dada and senseless, only ‘understood’ by few people in the modern age and, indeed, at the time of its creation (and we can never really be sure if they are telling the truth about their insight). The same, in my opinion, can be said about Vinyl, a supposed adaptation of A Clockwork Orange, which, as far as I can see, makes little sense in terms of its inspiration or as an intrinsic piece of art.
This is, as I have stated, only my opinion. It could be that Warhol and I are not on the same page when it comes to these films, it could be that the meaning of them is lost on me or it could be that I just haven’t studied them enough, but it seems to me, that the majority of Warhol’s films were more about breaking out of the confines of ‘art’ and moving it in a new direction – a new form of Dadaism perhaps, which, in some circles, makes him a genius, and in others, a heathen.
That being said, there is one filmic project that I connect with and admire strongly, and that is his Screen Tests.
Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests or Moving Portaits are haunting and intriguing. The aim of them was to break away from the flat and one dimensional painted or photographic portrait, and create a form which would instead evoke a deeper and realistic capturing of self. Whereas a photograph, painting or drawing provides a snapshot of a person, Warhol’s Moving Portraits give the viewer an intimate moment with the subject, where their existence is far less abstract.
They have about them a sense of voyeurism and hypnotism. Staring into the eyes of a stranger demands a familiarity which can make the viewer uncomfortable and feel nervous. A still image of a person doesn’t appear to know you are looking at them, whereas the Moving Portrait muses look back at you as you study them.
Looking back at my musings on the Screen Tests almost makes me feel like one of those people who say that Eat is the reason they became an artist, but even so, I believe them to be Warhol’s best work. They have been overlooked in favour of the more controversial pieces (Blow Job, for example) as his legacy has been remembered over time and it is unfortunate that this is the case, as I see an honesty and expressionism which is truly touching in these films.
They may not be as outrageous as other works of his, but the quiet and understated nature that Warhol managed to achieve with these pieces, is perhaps what makes them so beautiful.
