Peter Gidal's Book on Warhol's 'Blow Job' Published by Afterall
Afterall has published a book by filmmaker and writer Peter Gidal analyzing Andy Warhol's 1964 film 'Blow Job'. The 36-minute silent black-and-white film, made at the Factory in New York, shows a young man's head and shoulders as he apparently receives oral sex, leaving the act to the viewer's imagination. Gidal argues the film is about film itself, time, and mortality, placing it within a history of works by Duchamp and Velázquez that affect the viewer directly. The book contextualizes Warhol's work within contemporary culture while acknowledging his debt to earlier visual stylists. Winston Wheeler Dixon of Screening the Past praised it as a significant addition to Warhol scholarship. The publication is available via MIT Press and Google Books.
Key facts
- Andy Warhol's 'Blow Job' is a 36-minute silent black-and-white film from 1964.
- The film shows only the head and shoulders of a young man apparently receiving oral sex.
- Peter Gidal wrote a book about the film published by Afterall.
- Gidal places the film in context with works by Duchamp and Velázquez.
- The book examines themes of voyeurism, duration, time, and mortality.
- Winston Wheeler Dixon reviewed the book positively in Screening the Past in August 2009.
- The book can be purchased via MIT Press or previewed on Google Books.
- Afterall's One Work series includes other titles on Sung Hwan Kim, Isa Genzken, Alfredo Jaar, and Donald Rodney.
Entities
Artists
- Andy Warhol
- Peter Gidal
- Marcel Duchamp
- Diego Velázquez
- Sung Hwan Kim
- Isa Genzken
- Alfredo Jaar
- Donald Rodney
Institutions
- Afterall
- MIT Press
- Google Books
- The Factory
- Screening the Past
Locations
- New York
- United States
Sources
- Afterall —