The Factory
The Factory was Andy Warhol’s New York studio, where he made art and films and gathered artists, performers, musicians, and other collaborators.
Andy Warhol: Andy Warhol was an American artist and filmmaker associated with Pop art, mass production, and celebrity culture. He founded the studio and shaped its art, films, and public identity.
Screen printing: Screen printing is a stencil-based printing process that transfers ink through a mesh onto a surface. Warhol used it to produce repeated images with variations and visible imperfections.
Silver Factory: The Silver Factory was Andy Warhol’s studio at 231 East 47th Street in Manhattan, used from 1964 to 1968. Its mirrored silver interior gave the Factory its best-known name and visual character.
Artistic collaboration: Artistic collaboration is the creation of art through shared work by two or more people. The Factory made collective production central to Warhol’s practice and public image.
Gerard Malanga: Gerard Malanga is an American poet, photographer, and filmmaker who collaborated with Andy Warhol. He assisted Warhol and became a central performer in the studio’s films and events.
Warhol's Screen Tests: Warhol’s Screen Tests are silent, fixed-camera film portraits of visitors recorded at his studio during the 1960s. The brief portraits turned visitors into subjects and made the studio a site of filmmaking.
Union Square: Union Square is a public square and neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The Factory’s later studio at 860 Broadway stood near this Manhattan landmark.
Factory Girl: Factory girl is a term associated with women who appeared in Andy Warhol’s films and social circle. The label reflects how the studio’s participants became subjects and public figures in their own right.
Edie Sedgwick: Edie Sedgwick was an American actress, model, and socialite associated with Andy Warhol’s films and art scene. Her screen presence made her one of the Factory’s most recognizable figures.
Exploding Plastic Inevitable: The Exploding Plastic Inevitable was a multimedia performance event combining the Velvet Underground, film projections, and dance. It carried the Factory’s collaborative methods from the studio into live performance.