Lady Warhol

This is not Andy Warhol as we are accustomed to seeing him: in dramatic eyeliner and mascara, an asymmetrical blond bob worthy of a Vogue cover circa 1987, his hands clutched girlishly at his upper thigh; or with a glisteningly lipsticked cupid’s bow, shadowed eyes downcast; or draped, from the armpits down, in a white sheet, his upper chest startlingly pale. In these portraits, made by Christopher Makos (born 1948), the gender-transgressive themes of the 1980s collide with the spirit of Man Ray’s famous «Rrose Sélavy» pictures of Marcel Duchamp as a coy Parisian lady. The project entailed, Makos recalls, «eight wigs, two days of posing, 16 contact sheets, 349 shots»; this volume includes Makos’ original contact sheets, an essay by the photographer about his friendship with Warhol, and full-page prints of the most striking images to emerge from one of Pop’s most singular photo shoots.