In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.
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So said pop artist Andy Warhol in 1968. His quote could easily be revised nowadays to: "In the future, everyone will be famous to 15 people".
Now that everyone can be just a little bit famous, in future, will everyone want to be anonymous?
British actor Garry Roost will perform his Andy Warhol show in Newcastle this week.
Warhol: Bullet Karma will be performed at The Creator Incubator's theatre in Hamilton North on Friday and Saturday night.
Garry said the play was centred around the shooting and attempted murder of Warhol in 1968. Valerie Solanas, a paranoid schizophrenic, was the shooter.
She had asked Warhol to produce her script, titled Up Your Ass.
"She asked if he would turn it into a film. He said, 'sure, we'll do that'," Garry said.
"It laid in the bottom of a drawer and was never mentioned again. She was constantly pestering him to put the film together."
Being shot was the "catalyst for his demise in the end".
"Warhol was never the same after that. He died a very lonely death at age 58."
As well as the shooting, the play depicts characters from the Factory - Warhol's studio in New York. It was a popular hangout for hip artists and renowned for its decadence and debauchery.
However, Garry said it was a place of serious business.
"Warhol was a corporate artist. Art was business to him," he said.
"It was work hard, play hard. It was a proper work environment. It wasn't about sitting around, smoking dope."
Life at the Factory involved "hectic, full-on working days".
"It wasn't just about shooting a few home movies. It had a purpose. Warhol wanted to make money. He was very keen for people to be who they are, be themselves and discover themselves. He gave them a platform, but a lot of people perished - Edie Sedgwick among others."
Garry said Warhol was somewhat of a "corporate bully" and received criticism "for not helping people more".
The artist believed that "grown-ups can look after themselves".
Fame and Fortune
Garry described Warhol as "a brilliant artist" who sought fame and money. He was attracted to people in power and liked to act as if he had no personality. He has been described as a "heartless vampire, feeding on fame and glamour".
But some say his coldness was just an act.
A snapshot of Warhol's personality was captured in a famous piece of grainy footage in which he snubbed David Bowie.
"You can see Bowie looking massively shocked at Warhol completely ignoring him as if he wasn't in the room," Garry said.
Years later, Bowie said Warhol was a "lethal svengali figure", which is a person who "exercises a controlling or mesmeric influence on another, especially for a sinister purpose".
"He was an extraordinary hypnotic kind of guy," Bowie said.
Garry said his play doesn't make "a personal statement" about Warhol.
"Some people thought he was an asshole, other people loved him. Lots of people were inspired by him," he said.
"People can make their own mind up."
The show starts at 7.30pm on both nights.
Who Cares
A philosopher graffiti artist has popped up at The Entrance on the Central Coast.
As we drove past a fairly prominent wall, we noticed the phrase: "Few knew, less cared".
Sounds like the work of a nihilist.