Pat Hackett

Well, it's Andy Warhol, so it's pretty much what you'd expect. Generally speaking, his secretary Pat Hackett did a fine job of turning Warhol's recollections into a readable book, but she made him sound nicer than he was. Even in the sympathetic biographies (like Victor Bockris's), Warhol doesn't come off as the harmless, almost goody-two-shoes voyeur he tries to be in POPism, so take this portrayal with a grain of salt.

It's never directly stated, of course, but this book isn't about the 1960s: that's just the incidental garnish. It's actually about an ambitious eccentric who, via his art and considerable luck, made contact with stratospherically rich people who collected paintings and enabled him to become a celebrity (and to indulge his crueler instincts). Did some part of Warhol--who came from a desperately poor background--hate these people? Probably. But another part of him yearned to join their ranks, and he made it. By the end, he had nothing like a human personality ("I don't think that there is any person there," William S. Burroughs once remarked to David Bowie)...but that, too, aligned with Warhol's desires. Or so he said. Certainly, he was famous for being a nonpersonality--a real-life cartoon character--rather than for his art. (If you've ever wondered what Pop looked like when painted by people with actual artistic talent, check out the work of Tom Wesselmann or Alex Katz.)

POPism underscores the fact that what went on at the Factory was far more interesting than Warhol's artistic output. (Does anyone really care about 100 Brillo Boxes or 40 Gold Marilyns at this stage of the game?) He and the wealthy, manipulative art crowd survived, but many of the people who gave this narrative its drama--Fred Herko, Danny Williams, Andrea Feldman, Eric Emerson--did not. The story about a drunken Judy Garland singing "Over the Rainbow" with a mouthful of spaghetti is funny, sort of, but it's also mean-spirited. Much of the book is just spiteful without being even slightly funny, and the smarmily casual tone fails to disguise the intent.… (meer)

Pat Hackett was Andy Warhol's secretary throughout the 1970s and 80s, but her role encompassed more than that label suggests. For instance, in the case of the Diaries, she wrote the manuscript based on her memory of conversations with Warhol and edited the manuscript into publishable form. Hackett is also listed as coauthor on POPism. The Warhol Sixties.

Unlike the Diaries, POPism. The Warhol Sixties is a very readable book. The Diaries cover the period 1977 - 1987, which was artistically a less interesting period in Warhol's life. On the other hand, POPism. The Warhol Sixties covers the 1960s, the decade which saw Andy Warhol rise from an unknown to a world-renowned artist.

POPism. The Warhol Sixties is written in a very lively, enervating style. Regardless of whether you are specifically interested in Andy Warhol, the book is recommended to any reader who is interested to experience the very positive atmosphere of the 1960s. The landmark achievements in Warhol's artistic career are mentioned, but the book is devoid of technical details of art production. Neither does Warhol talk about money, although between the lines one can read that his fame was established very fast, and he must have made or been closely associated with a lot of it. At the beginning of the book, there is talk of walking on old shoes, while towards the end of it Warhol is described only as getting into and alighting from limousines, and the casual mention of buying "a pound of caviar".

POPism. The Warhol Sixties is essentially a book of people, and the only thing that can be said against the book is that it comes very close to name-dropping. However, the overall style of the book is so positive and powerful that the book does not notably suffer.

Read the book to relive that period, and if you are interested in Andy Warhol, then POPism. The Warhol Sixties is a very good place to start.… (meer)