How Andy Warhol Made Blow Jobs Boring
Every party should have Warhol films projected. That’s my conclusion after revisiting some of them for hours at the tiny but warm New York Museum of Sex show “Looking at Andy Looking.” Everyone should fall asleep to Sleep (1964). Every film frame can, if hung over a bed, lull you. The filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami once said that he preferred movies that make you sleep—that are “kind enough to allow you a nice nap”—especially against those loud, violence-stuffed movies that take you “hostage.” Well, Warhol’s films are just as kind. In response to the endless, frightening sixties business of assassination, imperial war, and the money drive, Warhol films offered up nice naps. Related Articles Now, if you’re having sex, it probably wouldn’t be so nice to nap. There’s a time and place for everything, including sleep. Sleeping during sex, though! During such an act of busy thinking and unthinking, lost and gained positions? Enter Warhol. He saw, cagily and presciently, the flattening of bodies onto screens. Andy turned the camera on a sleeping lover—John Giorno—let him …