last entry.

I "finally" finished the book today.

The book continues chronicling Andy's life, talking about his consistency with making films, paintings, and generally creating more fame for himself. Towards the end of his life, Andy started a magazine (that is still in publication) called Interview. At first, its angle was geared toward art and poetry, but circulation was very poor. When Warhol decided to change it to a more fashion-oriented magazine, circulation more than doubled. Today, the magazine is still known for its cutting-edge interview of celebrites (including Kate Moss!) and its fashion editorials. Some say that Interview was one of the contributing factors to keeping Andy Warhol more than just a passing sixties fad.

Around the same time Interview started, Andy started an actual company out of his famous name called Andy Warhol Enterprises. Receptionists no longer answered the phone with "the Factory"; instead they answered with "the Office". Warhol cashed in on his name by painting portraits of people at expensive prices. In interviews, he continued to be detached and gave short, vague answers.

By the mid 70s, his routine was pretty consistent. He'd work, go to parties, and every once a month he'd travel to a distant country or city as a sort of "vacation". The same thing that had been happening his whole life continued to happen - he'd come out with new art and the reviews would be mixed. The only major difference is that Andy moved to a five-story mansion in New York during this period of his life.

During the winter of 1987, Warhol flew to Milan, Italy for a gallery showing. Towards the end of his stay in Milan, Warhol began experiencing excruciating pain in his abdomen. The problem was found to be dangerously enlarged gallstones in his bladder. Andy went into surgery on February 21. He seemed to be recovering fine, but heart complications killed him on February 22, 1987. His grave is next to his parents in Pittsburgh, and he was buried wearing sunglasses. His will stated that his entire estate go to funding an arts foundation.

The book closes with this quote: "If you want to know about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings and films and me, and there i am. There's nothing behind it."





page I left off on: I finished. (page 99)

Ford, Carin. Andy Warhol: Pioneer of Pop Art. New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 2001.