Decker Building, 33 Union Square West, NYC (2008)

The Factory was

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

's studio in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famed for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities and Warhol's superstars. The original Factory was often referred to as the Silver Factory. In the studio, Warhol's workers would make

silkscreen Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh ...

s and

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

s under his direction.

History

Due to the mess his work was causing at home, Warhol wanted to find a studio where he could paint. A friend of his found an old unoccupied firehouse on East 87th Street where Warhol began working in January 1963. No one was eager to go there, so the rent was $150 a month. A few months later, Warhol was informed that the building would have to be vacated soon, and in November he found another loft on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street in

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...

, which would become the first Factory. In 1963, artist

Ray Johnson Raymond Edward "Ray" Johnson (October 16, 1927 – January 13, 1995) was an American artist. Known primarily as a collagist and correspondence artist, he was a seminal figure in the history of Neo-Dada and early Pop art and was described as

took Warhol to a "haircutting party" at

Billy Name William George Linich (February 22, 1940 – July 18, 2016), known professionally as Billy Name, was an American photographer, filmmaker, and lighting designer. He was the archivist of The Factory from 1964 to 1970. His brief romance and subsequ ...

's apartment, decorated with tin foil and silver paint, and Warhol asked him to do the same scheme for his recently leased loft. Silver, fractured mirrors, and tin foil were the basic decorating materials loved by early amphetamine users of the sixties. Name covered the whole factory in silver, even the elevator. Warhol's years at the Factory were known as the Silver Era. Aside from the prints and paintings, Warhol produced shoes, films, sculptures and commissioned work in various genres to brand and sell items with his name. His first commissions consisted of a single silkscreen portrait for $25,000, with additional canvases in other colors for $5,000 each. He later increased the price of alternative colors to $20,000 each. Warhol used a large portion of his income to finance the Factory. Billy Name brought in the red couch which became a prominent furnishing at the Factory, finding it on the sidewalk of 47th street during one of his "midnight outings." The sofa quickly became a favorite place for Factory guests to crash overnight, usually after coming down from

speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...

. It was featured in many photographs and films from the Silver era, including ''

Blow Job Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act involving a person stimulating the human penis, penis of another person by using the human mouth, mouth, throat, or both. Oral stim ...

'' (1963) and ''

Couch A couch, also known as a sofa, settee, or chesterfield, is a cushioned item of furniture for seating multiple people (although it is not uncommon for a single person to use a couch alone). It is commonly found in the form of a bench with uph ...

'' (1964). During the move in 1968, the couch was stolen while left unattended on the sidewalk for a short time. Many Warhol films, including those made at the Factory, were first (or later) shown at the

New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre The Garrick Cinema (periodically referred to as the New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre, Andy Warhol's Garrick Cinema, Garrick Theatre, or Nickelodeon) was a 199-seat movie house at 152 Bleecker Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower ...

55th Street Playhouse The 55th Street Playhouse—periodically referred to as the 55th Street Cinema and Europa Theatre—was a 253-seat movie house at 154 West 55th Street, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that opened on May 20, 1927. Many classic art and foreign ...

. Warhol left in 1967 when the building was scheduled to be torn down. The location is now the entrance to the parking garage of One Dag. He then relocated his studio to the sixth floor of the

Decker Building The Decker Building (also the Union Building) is a commercial building located at 33 Union Square West in Manhattan, New York City. The structure was completed in 1892 for the Decker Brothers piano company, and designed by John H. Edelmann. Fro ...

at 33 Union Square West near the corner of East 16th Street, near

Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decembe ...

, a club which Warhol and his entourage frequently visited. By the time Warhol had achieved a reputation, he was working day and night on his paintings. Warhol used silkscreens so that he could mass-produce images the way corporations mass-produced consumer goods. To increase production, he attracted a ménage of

adult film Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include eroticall ...

performers,

drag queens A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

, socialites, drug addicts, musicians, and free-thinkers who became known as the Warhol Superstars, to help him. These "art-workers" helped him create his paintings, starred in his films, and created the atmosphere for which the Factory became legendary. In 1968, Warhol was shot by

Valerie Solanas Valerie Jean Solanas (April 9, 1936 – April 25, 1988) was an American radical feminist known for the ''SCUM Manifesto'', which she self-published in 1967, and for her attempt to murder artist Andy Warhol in 1968. Solanas had a turbulent child ...

at the Factory. The Factory was revamped and remained there until 1973. It moved to 860

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the north end of Union Square. Although this space was much larger, not much filmmaking took place there. In 1984 Warhol moved his remaining ventures, no longer including filming, to 22 East 33rd Street, a conventional office building. Speaking in 2002, musician

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

said, "It wasn't called the Factory for nothing. It was where the

assembly line An assembly line is a manufacturing process (often called a ''progressive assembly'') in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation where the parts are added in seq ...

for the silkscreens happened. While one person was making a silkscreen, somebody else would be filming a

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a came ...

. Every day something new."

Regulars

Friends of Warhol and "superstars" associated with the Factory included: * George Abagnalo *

Paul America Paul Johnson (February 25, 1944 – October 19, 1982), better known as Paul America, was an American actor who was a member of Andy Warhol's Superstars. He starred in one Warhol-directed film, ''My Hustler'' (1965), and also appeared in Edi ...

Penny Arcade ''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have establish ...

Joey Arias Joey Arias is an American artist based in New York City, best known for work as a performance artist, cabaret singer, and drag artist, but also as a published author, comedian, stage persona and film actor. He also goes by the names Joseph Ar ...

Brigid Brigid ( , ; meaning 'exalted one' from Old Irish),Campbell, MikBehind the Name.See also Xavier Delamarre, ''brigantion / brigant-'', in ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise'' (Éditions Errance, 2003) pp. 87–88: "Le nom de la sainte irlandais ...

and Richie Berlin *

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...

* Richard Bernstein *

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Tally Brown Tally Brown (August 1, 1924 – May 6, 1989) was a singer and actress who was part of the New York underground performance scene, particularly Andy Warhol's "Factory" and who appeared in or was the subject of films by Andy Warhol and Rosa von P ...

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

* Patrick Tilden Close *

Jackie Curtis Jackie Curtis (February 19, 1947 – May 15, 1985) was an American actress, writer, singer, and Warhol superstar. Early life and career Jackie Curtis was born in New York City to John Holder and Jenevive Uglialoro. She had one sibling, half-br ...

Ronnie Cutrone Ronnie Cutrone (July 10, 1948 – July 21, 2013) was an American pop artist known for his large-scale paintings of some of America's favorite cartoon characters, such as Felix the Cat, Pink Panther, Woody Woodpecker and No Glove No Love. Style C ...

Joe Dallesandro Joseph Angelo D'Allesandro III (born December 31, 1948) is an American actor and Warhol superstar. Having also crossed over into mainstream roles such as mobster Lucky Luciano in the film ''The Cotton Club (film), The Cotton Club'', Dallesandro ...

Candy Darling Candy Darling (November 24, 1944 – March 21, 1974) was an American actress, best known as a Warhol superstar and transgender icon. She starred in Andy Warhol's films ''Flesh'' (1968) and '' Women in Revolt'' (1971), and was a muse of The Velve ...

Johnny Dodd John P. "Johnny" Dodd (June 25, 1941 – July 15, 1991) was a lighting designer for theater, dance and music active in the downtown art scene in Manhattan during the latter half of the 20th century. Career achievements During the 1960s, Dod ...

Bobby Driscoll Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 – March 30, 1968) was an American actor known for his film and television performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of the Walt Disney Studios' best-known live-action pictures of that period ...

Eric Emerson Eric Emerson (June 23, 1945 – May 28, 1975) was an American musician, dancer, and actor. Emerson is best known for his roles in films by pop artist Andy Warhol, and as a member of the seminal glam punk group the Magic Tramps. Career Growing ...

Danny Fields Danny Fields (born Daniel Feinberg; November 13, 1939) is an American music manager, publicist, journalist and author. As a music industry executive from the 1960s to the 1980s, he was one of the most influential figures in the history of punk r ...

Jane Forth Jane Forth (born 1953) is an American actress and model, best known for having been one of the Warhol superstars, starring in films such as ''Trash'', and being one of “Antonio’s Girls”, models and muses of fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez ...

Henry Geldzahler Henry Geldzahler (July 9, 1935 – August 16, 1994) was a Belgian-born American curator of contemporary art in the late 20th century, as well as a historian and critic of modern art. He is best known for his work at the Metropolitan Museum ...

John Giorno John Giorno (December 4, 1936 – October 11, 2019) was an American poet and performance artist. He founded the not-for-profit production company Giorno Poetry Systems and organized a number of early multimedia poetry experiments and events, inc ...

Catherine Guinness Catherine Ingrid Guinness, known as Catherine Charteris, Lady Neidpath from 1983 to 1990 and later as Catherine Hesketh, (born 1 June 1952) is a British aristocrat, writer, and socialite. The first child of Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne, she ...

Jerry Hall Jerry Faye Hall (born July 2, 1956) is an American model and actress. She began modelling in the 1970s and became one of the most sought after models in the world. She transitioned into acting, appearing in the 1989 film ''Batman''. Hall was th ...

Halston Roy Halston Frowick (April 23, 1932 – March 26, 1990), known mononymously as Halston, was an American fashion designer who rose to international fame in the 1970s. His minimalist, clean designs, often made of cashmere or ultrasuede, were a ...

Bibbe Hansen Bibbe Hansen (born January 31, 1952) is an American performance artist, musician and actress. Family Hansen's parents were bohemian Jewish poet Audrey Ostlin Hansen and Fluxus artist Al Hansen, a participant in the Andy Warhol Factory. Her stepf ...

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual language". Much of his wor ...

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

Freddie Herko Frederick Charles "Freddie" Herko (February 23, 1936 – October 27, 1964) was an American artist, musician, actor, dancer, choreographer and teacher. Early life Born in New York City, Herko's father was a diner manager and his mother wa ...

Baby Jane Holzer Jane Holzer (née Brukenfeld; born October 23, 1940) is an American art collector and film producer who was previously an actress, model, and Warhol superstar. She was often known by the nickname Baby Jane Holzer. Biography The daughter of real ...

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

Bianca Jagger Bianca Jagger (born Blanca Pérez-Mora Macías; 2 May 1945)

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

* Miro Bartonik *

Betsey Johnson Betsey Johnson (born 1942) is an American fashion designer best known for her feminine and whimsical designs. Many of her designs are considered "over the top" and embellished. She also is known for doing a cartwheel ending in a split at the ...

* Jed Johnson *

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

Udo Kier Udo Kierspe (born 14 October 1944), known professionally as Udo Kier, is a German actor. Known primarily as a character actor, Kier has appeared in more than 220 films in both leading and supporting roles throughout Europe and the Americas. He h ...

Naomi Levine Naomi Levine was an American actress, artist and filmmaker. She was a friend of Jack Smith and pop artist and filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of com ...

Ulli Lommel Ulli Lommel (21 December 1944 – 2 December 2017) was a German actor and director, noted for his many collaborations with Rainer Werner Fassbinder and his association with the New German Cinema movement. Lommel spent time at The Factory and was ...

Gerard Malanga Gerard Joseph Malanga (born March 20, 1943) is an American poet, photographer, filmmaker, actor, curator and archivist. Early life Malanga was born in the Bronx in 1943, the only child of Italian immigrant parents. In 1959, at the beginning of h ...

Taylor Mead Taylor Mead (December 31, 1924 – May 8, 2013) was an American writer, actor and performer. Mead appeared in several of Andy Warhol's underground films filmed at Warhol's The Factory, Factory, including ''Tarzan and Jane Regained... Sort of ...

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

Mario Montez René Rivera, (July 20, 1935 – September 26, 2013), known professionally as Mario Montez, was one of the Warhol superstars, appearing in thirteen of Andy Warhol's underground films from 1964 to 1966. He took his name as a male homage to the act ...

Paul Morrissey Paul Morrissey (born February 23, 1938) is an American film director, best known for his association with Andy Warhol. He was also director of the first film in which a transgender actress, Holly Woodlawn, starred as a girlfriend of the main cha ...

Herbert Muschamp Herbert Mitchell Muschamp (November 28, 1947 – October 2, 2007) was an American architecture critic. Early years Born in Philadelphia, Muschamp described his childhood home life as follows: "The living room was a secret. A forbidden zone. ...

* International Velvet *

Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company Société à responsabilité limitée#In Switzerland, limited (NICO) is a Switzerland, Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC bu ...

* Ondine *

Ruby Lynn Reyner Ruby Lynn Reyner is an American singer, songwriter, musical playwright and actress known as the star of the Playhouse of the Ridiculous and associated as the leader of the glam rock band Ruby and the Rednecks in New York City. She and her band ...

Glenn O'Brien Glenn O'Brien (March 2, 1947 – April 7, 2017) was an American writer who focused largely on the subjects of art, music, and fashion. He was featured for many years as "The Style Guy" in ''GQ'' magazine and published a book with that title. He ...

Anita Pallenberg Anita Pallenberg (6 April 1942 – 13 June 2017) was a German-Italian actress, artist, and model. A style icon and "It Girl" of the 1960s and 1970s, Pallenberg was credited as the muse of the Rolling Stones: she was the romantic partner of the ...

Paige Powell Paige Powell (born 1950 or 1951) is an American photographer, curator, art consultant, and animal rights activist. Powell was the public affairs director of the Portland Zoo before she moved to New York City in 1980. Between 1982 and 1994, she work ...

Asha Puthli Asha Puthli is a singer-songwriter, producer, and actress born on February 4, 1945 and raised in Bombay, India. She has recorded solo albums for EMI, CBS/Sony, and RCA. Her recordings cover blues, pop, rock, soul, funk, disco, and techno a ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

Rene Ricard Rene Ricard (July 23, 1946 – February 1, 2014) was an American poet, actor, art critic, and painter. Life and career Albert Napoleon Ricard was born in Boston and grew up in Acushnet, Massachusetts near New Bedford. As a young teenager he ran ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

Rotten Rita Rotten Rita (real name Kenneth C. Rapp) (May 6, 1938 - February 26, 2010) was an influential denizen of Andy Warhol's The Factory and was sometimes referred to as "The Mayor". Although he worked by day in a fabric store, he spent many nights at the ...

Edie Sedgwick Edith Minturn Sedgwick Post (April 20, 1943 – November 16, 1971) was an American actress and fashion model, known for being one of Andy Warhol's superstars.Watson, Steven (2003), "Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties" Pantheon Books, pp. 210& ...

Stephen Shore Stephen Shore (born October 8, 1947) is an American photographer known for his images of banal scenes and objects, and for his pioneering use of color in art photography. His books include ''Uncommon Places'' (1982) and ''American Surfaces'' (199 ...

* Ingrid Superstar *

Ultra Violet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation i ...

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...

Viva Viva may refer to: Companies and organisations * Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator * Viva Air, a Spanish airline taken over by flag carrier Iberia * Viva Air Dominicana * VIVA Bahrain, a telecommunication company * ...

Louis Waldon Louis Waldon (December 16, 1934 – December 6, 2013) was an American film actor, whose career spanned nearly 45 years. He was born in Modesto, California. Waldon began his acting career in 1965. He was best known for his collaboration with Ameri ...

Chuck Wein Chuck Wein (March 24, 1939March 18, 2008) was an American promoter and manager of entertainment acts whose celebrity stemmed from his five-year (1964–1969) association with Andy Warhol and from his discovery of Edie Sedgwick who became a ...

Holly Woodlawn Holly Woodlawn (October 26, 1946 – December 6, 2015) was a transgender Puerto Rican actress and Warhol superstar who appeared in the films ''Trash'' (1970) and '' Women in Revolt'' (1971). She is also known as the Holly in Lou Reed's hit glam r ...

Mary Woronov Mary Woronov (born December 8, 1943) is an American actress, published author and figurative painter. She is primarily known as a " cult star" because of her work with Andy Warhol and her roles in Roger Corman's cult films. Woronov has appeared ...

Work

Music

The Factory became a meeting place of artists and musicians such as

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, and

, as well as writer

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

. Less frequent visitors included

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

and

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

. Warhol collaborated with Reed's influential New York

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...

in 1965, and designed the noted cover for ''

The Velvet Underground & Nico ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' is the debut album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground and German singer Nico, released in March 1967 through Verve Records. It was recorded in 1966 while the band were featured on Andy Warhol's Ex ...

,'' the band's debut album. It featured a plastic image of a yellow banana, which users could peel off to reveal a flesh-hued version of the banana. Warhol also designed the album cover for

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

' album ''

Sticky Fingers ''Sticky Fingers'' is the 9th British and 11th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. The Stones released it on 23 April 1971 on their new, and own label Rolling Stones Records. They had been contracted by Decca ...

''. Warhol included the Velvet Underground in the

Exploding Plastic Inevitable The ''Exploding Plastic Inevitable'', sometimes simply called ''Plastic Inevitable'' or ''EPI'', was a series of multimedia events organized by Andy Warhol in 1966 and 1967, featuring musical performances by The Velvet Underground & Nico, screenin ...

, a spectacle that combined art, rock, Warhol films and dancers of all kinds, as well as live S&M enactments and imagery. The Velvet Underground and EPI used the Factory as a place to rehearse and hang out. " Walk on the Wild Side", Lou Reed's best-known song from his solo career, was released on his second, and first commercially successful, solo album, ''

Transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

'' (1972). The song relates to the superstars and life of the Factory. He mentions

and Joe Campbell (referred to in the song by his Factory nickname Sugar Plum Fairy).

Sexual radicals

Andy Warhol commented on mainstream America through his art while disregarding its conservative social views. Almost all his work filmed at the Factory featured nudity, graphic sexuality, drug use, same-sex relations and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

characters in much greater proportion to what was being shown in mainstream cinema. By making the films, Warhol created a sexually lenient environment at the Factory for the "

happenings A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow during the 1950s to describe a range of art-related events. History Origins Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happen ...

" staged there, which included fake weddings between drag queens, porn film rentals, and vulgar plays. What was called

free love Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues were the concern ...

took place in the studio, as sexuality in the 1960s was becoming more open and embraced as a high ideal. Warhol used footage of sexual acts between his friends in his work, such as in ''

Blue Movie ''Blue Movie'' (also known as ''Fuck'') is a 1969 American erotic film written, produced and directed by Andy Warhol. It is the first adult erotic film depicting explicit sex to receive wide theatrical release in the United States, and is re ...

'', a 1969 film directed, produced, written and cinematographed by Warhol. The film, starring

and

, was the first

adult erotic film Erotic photography is a style of art photography of an erotic, sexually suggestive or sexually provocative nature. Erotic photography is often distinguished from nude photography, which contains nude subjects not necessarily in an erotic situation ...

depicting explicit

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

to receive wide theatrical release in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

were noted

who were part of the Factory group, as was

woman

. Andy Warhol frequently used these women and other sexual non-conformists in his films, plays, and events. Because of the constant drug use and the presence of sexually liberal artists and radicals, drugged orgies were a frequent happening at the Factory. Warhol met Ondine at an

orgy In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party consisting of at least five members where guests freely engage in open and unrestrained sexual activity or group sex. Swingers' parties do not always conform to this designation, because at many swing ...

in 1962:

Films

Warhol started shooting movies in the Factory around 1963, when he began work on ''Kiss''. He screened his films at the Factory for his friends before they were released for public audiences. When traditional theaters refused to screen his more provocative films, Warhol sometimes turned to night-clubs or porn theaters, including the

and the

, for their distribution. The following list includes all movies filmed entirely or partly at the Factory. 1963 * ''

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

'' * ''Rollerskate'' * ''Haircut no. 1'' * ''Haircut no. 2'' * ''Haircut no. 3'' 1964 * ''Handjob'' * ''

'' * ''

Screen Tests The ''Screen Tests'' are a series of short, silent, black-and-white film portraits by Andy Warhol, made between 1964 and 1966, generally showing their subjects from the neck up against plain backdrops. The ''Screen Tests'', of which 472 survive ...

'' (1964–1966) * ''

Jill Johnston Jill Johnston (May 17, 1929 – September 18, 2010) was a British-born American feminist author and cultural critic who wrote '' Lesbian Nation'' in 1973 and was a longtime writer for ''The Village Voice''. She was also a leader of the lesbian ...

Dancing'' * '' Eat'' * ''

'' * ''

'' * ''Shoulder'' * ''

Soap Opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' * '' Taylor Mead's Ass'' * ''Mario Banana'' * ''

Harlot Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

'' * ''13 Most Beautiful Women'' * ''13 Most Beautiful Boys'' * ''50 Fantastics and 50 Personalities'' 1965 * ''John and Ivy'' * ''Screen Test #1'' * ''Screen Test #2'' * ''Drink'' * ''Suicide'' (Screen Test #3) * ''Horse (1965 film), Horse'' * ''Vinyl (1965 film), Vinyl'' * ''Bitch'' * ''Poor Little Rich Girl (1965 film), Poor Little Rich Girl'' * ''Face'' * ''Afternoon'' * ''Beauty No. 1'' * ''Beauty No. 2'' * ''Space (1965 film), Space'' * ''Factory Diaries'' * ''Outer and Inner Space'' * ''Prison'' * ''The Fugs and the Holy Modal Rounders'' * ''My Hustler'' * ''Camp (1965 film), Camp'' * ''More Milk, Yvette'' * ''Lupe'' 1966 * ''Ari and Mario'' * ''Eating Too Fast'' (a.k.a. ''Blow Job #2'') * ''The Velvet Underground and Nico: A Symphony of Sound'' * ''Hedy'' (a.k.a. ''Hedy the Shoplifter'') * ''The Beard'' * ''Salvador Dalí (film), Salvador Dalí'' * ''Superboy'' * ''Chelsea Girls, The Chelsea Girls'' * ''The Bob Dylan Story'' * ''Since (film), Since'' (a.k.a. ''The Kennedy Assassination'') * ''Mrs. Warhol'' * ''Kiss the Boot'' * ''The Andy Warhol Story'' * ''A Christmas Carol'' * ''Four Stars (1967 film), **** (four stars)'' (a.k.a. ''The 24-Hour Movie'') 1967 * ''Imitation of Christ (film), Imitation of Christ'' * ''I, a Man'' * ''The Loves of Ondine'' * ''Bike Boy'' * ''Tub Girls'' * ''The Nude Restaurant'' * ''Sunset'' 1968 * ''Lonesome Cowboys (1968 film), Lonesome Cowboys'' * ''Flesh (1968 film), Flesh'' * ''Trash (1970 film), Trash'' (1968–1969) * ''Women in Revolt'' (1968–1971) 1969 * ''

'' * ''Sticks and Stones'' (by Miro Bartonik)

Locations

* Studio: 159 East 87th Street * Factory: 231 East 47th Street, 1963–67 (the building no longer exists) * Factory: 33 Union Square, 1967–73 (

) * Factory: 860 Broadway, 1973–84 (the building has now been completely remodeled) * Factory: 158 Madison Ave, Manhattan NY, Feb 2, 1983 to 1987. This building extended 27 feet along Madison Ave, 96 feet along 33rd St. AKA 22nd 33rd St. (the building no longer exists) * Home: 1342 Lexington Avenue * Home: 57 East 66th Street (Warhol's last home)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Factory 1960s in the United States Andy Warhol American artist groups and collectives New York (state) culture Cultural history of New York City People associated with The Factory,