"During the early 1970´s against a turbulent political backfrop tha included the fiasco of American involvement in the Vietnam War and the downfall of President Richard Nixon´s presidency in the Watergate scandal, a "me generation" sprang to prominence -and Andy Warhol was there to hold up it mirror.
Unlike the radicalized protesters of the 1960´s who wanted to change all the ills of society, the self-absorbed "me" people sought to improve their bodies and to "get in touch" with their own feelings. The cared passionately about their appearance, health, life-style, and bank accounts.
Andy catered to their self-centeredness and inflated pride by offering his services as a portraitist. By the end of the decade, he would be internationally recognized as ne of the leading portraitists of his era... Warhol offered his clients an irresistible product: a stylish and flattering portrait by a famous artist who was himself a certified celebrity. Conferring an alluring star presence upon even the most celebrated o faces, he transformed his subjects into glamorous apparitions, presenting their faces as he thought they wanted to be seen and remembered.
By filtering his stters´good features through his silkscreens and esaggerating their vivacity, he enabled them to gain entrée to a more mythic and rarefied level of existence. The possession of great wealth and power might do for everyday life, but the commissioning of a portrait by Warhol was a sure indication that the sitter intended to secure a posthumous fame as well. Warhol´s portraits were not so much realistic documents of contemporary faces as they were designer icons awaiting future devotions."
Warhol by David Bourdon
