In Search of an Archive of Warhol’s Era

During Andy Warhol’s time of popularity, Billy Name lived with Warhol, taking photos of everything and everyone in his studio. Over the seven years that he lived with Warhol, Name accumulated around 3,000 negatives depicting Warhol at work, the popular celebrities coming and going, and the overall lifestyle of Andy Warhol from 1963 to 1970. Since then, Name has been using images from the negatives to make an income. Many magazines and curators bought prints from Name because his photos gave a first hand view of Warhol’s activities, and they documented a new movement in art history. But now, with the negatives missing for nearly two years, some people fear that a piece of art history is also lost.

After leaving Warhol’s studio, Name held on to the negatives for a number of years. He later entrusted them to his agent, Kevin Kushel, whom he has worked with for over ten years. Kushel was responsible for managing and selling Name’s images, and Name was pleased with the arrangement. In 2007, Kushel moved from New York to California, and then to Hawaii. Name tried to contact him many times, but said that Kushel has not answered any of his pleas for images or negatives. Name also said that he even requested scans of the negatives, but Kushel did not comply. Kushel has claimed that he did comply with Name’s requests for the scans and that he is trying to get the negatives back to Name. Kushel said the negatives “are not missing” but that they are “being held captive by people who want money.”

Name’s new agent, Kymara Lonergan, has also asked Kushel for the negatives and their whereabouts and also received no answer. Lonergan and Name have not yet decided whether or not to file a lawsuit, which may be difficult because Name and Kushel did not have a written contract. In the meantime, Lonergan has obtained some scans of images from people who bought them from Name originally, but because Name is unsure of the number of negatives that have been scanned, his photos could be permanently lost if the negatives are not recovered. Lonergan has been told by another photography dealer that two antique dealers were trying to sell negatives they bought from an auction selling goods from a Manhattan warehouse. Since prints, not negatives, have value in the art market, this rumor is perplexing. Along with Name, many curators are hoping his negatives are recovered because “his documentation of that era is really irreplaceable.”

Vocabulary

live (with)* kohabitare

to take photos (photograph) fotografare

studio studio

accumulate* akumul(w)are

negative (n)* negativno

celebrity* tcelebrito

overall tuta

lifestyle vivajay stilo

income* aynspezenso

curator* kuratoro

print (n)* snimeko

first hand view direkta visto

document (v)* endokumentizare

missing* awsenta

agent agento

scan (n)* skanuro

comply* komplare

(held) captive*

whereabouts lwoko

to file (to initiate) natcware

lawsuit* proseso

(in the) meantime* dume

scan (v)* skanare

permanently permanente

dealer* komerco

auction* awkconajo

warehouse* sklado

rumor* gerumoro

era eraho

irreplaceable* nongeremplacaba

activities (something done) farajoy

(to be) responsible (for)* responsare

plea* pledajo

arrangement arandjuro

claim (v)* afirmare

request (n)* rogajo

to be certain of pevnare

recover* retruvare

market kumprago

perplexing perpleksa

around nirde

value vardo