During the course of the day a librarian will come into contact with all manner of fascinating items, hidden away in the stacks. All represent a fabulous wealth of historic information useful to professional researchers, students, family historians, or the incurably curious reader.
To access items in the basement you will need to ask at the reference desks (Central City Library). For more information on how to access material in the basement check out our FAQ's page.
Current treasure
: Andy Warhol's exposures
Published in 1979, Andy Warhol’s exposures is a collection of photographs and profiles of Andy Warhol’s friends. These include a range of prominent figures in society, rock, fashion, film, politics and sports at the time. With profiles of Jackie Onnasis, Bianca Jagger, Salvador Dali and even the famous disco nightclub, Studio 54.
Andy Warhol wrote the text with Bob Colacello, the former editor of his Interview magazine. The tone of the writing expresses a kind of outsider’s awe and reading the profiles is like standing on the edge of a party with a humorous and only sometimes scathing host giving you a running commentary of everyone else at the party. Warhol points out details about people and situations that others might leave behind and this results in a highly amusing and enlightening commentary.
As in a lot of Warhol’s work, his delight in humans and human drama comes out in Exposures. Warhol captures great, often candid portraits of his friends (who include anyone remotely glamorous); among my favourites is a picture of Imee Marcos, daughter of the President of the Philippines, feeding Lupo Ratazzi, nephew of Gianni Angelli, chairman of Fiat. There is also a great story about the aunt and first cousin of Jackie Onnasis, Edith Beale and her daughter Little Edie who the Maysles brothers made the documentary film Grey gardens about in 1975.
Andy Warhol’s exposures is a highly entertaining read and is an example of the diversity of Warhol’s oeuvre. If you are a fan of Andy Warhol or even just a bit curious about him or New York society in the seventies then look no further. And if you enjoy Exposures then pick up a copy of Popism, the autobiography Warhol wrote with Pat Hackett in 1980 which chronicles his 1960s. This is another great read also found in the Auckland City Libraries collection.
- Gwen
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