The Mirror Looks into a Mirror: What Does It See?

by Mia Badham

The “Warhol: Fabricated” exhibition at UAB’s Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts captures Warhol’s various thematic fascinations as well as his use of different media over time. I was most excited by the screen tests of Edie Sedgwick and Lou Reed. I was unfamiliar with Warhol’s extensive collection of these video portraits. These five-minute clips capture the individual in a way that still images cannot manage. A photograph is still and lifeless while the screen test subjects falter and blink and stare into your eyes letting the viewer feel a real connection with the person on the screen. Edie’s is particularly striking in the way her mouth opens and her eyes momentarily follow something off-screen. Even the way she blinks is elusive and dramatic. It is easy to understand Warhol’s fascination with her. Edie Sedgwick came to New York, a rich girl raised on the West Coast, and soon became one of Warhol’s close companions, one of his superstars. Perhaps Warhol saw something of himself in Sedgwick, superficial and fun loving, and certainly she became the reflection that he wanted to see. She died her hair silver and would mirror the way Warhol dressed and spoke, copying his vague manner. In one interview Warhol sat by silently while Sedgwick answered questions in his stead. What does a mirror see when it looks into a mirror? The relationship of Warhol and Sedgwick has been the subject of some debate. They were obviously close and some might even say that they came close to having a sort of love affair: a love based on mutual vanity and admiration, but love nonetheless. Others speculate that Warhol was rude, verging on abusive, toward many of his female superstars, friends, and other Factory regulars. Either way, Warhol’s and Sedgwick’s time spent together was full of action and excitement. Warhol’s screen test captures his superstar’s devious, theatrical nature.