Andy Warhol: Polaroids

September 14–December 15, 2023.

Part of his Torsos and Sex Parts series, these Polaroids were made by Andy Warhol (b. 1928 Pittsburgh; d. 1987 New York City) on a Polaroid Big Shot camera using Polaroid 108 film.  Warhol called the camera his “pencil and paper” and used the camera to produce studies and source material for prints and paintings as well as to create finished images like these photographs.   

These images of nude men make clear references to classical sculpture and Renaissance works of art.  They also speak to changing ideas in America about sex, nudity, pornography, and boundaries between so-called low- and high-art. According to the Warhol Museum, “The seed of the Torsos and Sex Parts series sprouted after a man approached Warhol boasting of his large penis. Warhol agreed to photograph the man’s genitalia and the photographs were placed in a box casually labeled ‘Sex Parts.’ Later, Warhol noticed the wording of the box’s label and conceived the idea for a series of works based on the initial photographs. Subjects for subsequent photo shoots were recruited from gay bath houses by Halston’s boyfriend, the artist and window dresser Victor Hugo. The men were asked to relax, pose, or take part in various sexual activities while Warhol photographed them with a 35mm camera and a Polaroid Big Shot. According to associate Bob Colacello, when confronted on the explicit nature of the photographs sitting around the office Warhol responded, ‘Just tell them it’s art, Bob. They’re landscapes.’”