“I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They’re beautiful. Everybody’s plastic, but I love plastic. I want to be plastic.” – Andy Warhol
Warhol’s Barbie was the perfect Warholian subject – the embodiment of celebrity, glamour, consumerism, and pop. It was on a shopping trip to the 23rd Street flea market in Manhattan that the idea for Warhol’s Barbie first appeared. When Andy suggested to his friend Billyboy that he paint his portrait, the designer replied, “If you want to do my portrait, do Barbie, because Barbie, c’est moi.”
Andy with Barbie, Portrait of BillyBoy* (photographer unknown, 1985)
Barbie, Portrait of BillyBoy*, 1986 (Andy Warhol)
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