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Stargazer: The Life, World and Films of Andy Warhol
After a long, critical appraisal of Warhol’s career and social presence up to the time of his death, Koch examines the cultural vortex in which the artist first his old sixties studio, the Factory. It was here, that Warhol produced his films, notorious underground classics whose radical esthetics are discussed in depth—from the silent marathon, Sleep, to Chelsea Girls.
153 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1985
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About the author
Stephen Koch
23 books79 followersStephen Koch is the author of The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction; The Breaking Point: Hemingway, Dos Passos, and the Murder of José Robles; Double Lives: Spies and Writers in the Secret Soviet War of Ideas Against the West; and other books. He previously taught creative writing at Columbia and Princeton universities for nearly twenty years.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 19, 2017
Stephen Koch presents the first ever concentrated look at Andy Warhol's film career. Omitting what all other Warhol biographies focus on, Koch is able to give an in depth analysis of Warhol's films beginning with the screen tests and silent shorts into his more controversial pieces and arguably his best film Chelsea Girls, leaving out the pictures which Morrissey directed and Andy merely produced.
Koch also provides background on Andy's personal life covering his family, schooling and the Valerie Solonas assassination attempt and how the incident shaped the rest of his life. Knowing Warhol's work was often an immediate reflection of the people around him Koch makes sure to include a great overlook of the major players, known as Andy's "Superstars" as well as those who never became household names but were staples of The Factory.
Beginner Warhol fans will find this a fantastic overview and expert Warholians will love the in depth discussions Koch provides for each film. Definitely recommend this one!
*Thank you Open Road Media And Netgalley for this review copy.
Koch also provides background on Andy's personal life covering his family, schooling and the Valerie Solonas assassination attempt and how the incident shaped the rest of his life. Knowing Warhol's work was often an immediate reflection of the people around him Koch makes sure to include a great overlook of the major players, known as Andy's "Superstars" as well as those who never became household names but were staples of The Factory.
Beginner Warhol fans will find this a fantastic overview and expert Warholians will love the in depth discussions Koch provides for each film. Definitely recommend this one!
*Thank you Open Road Media And Netgalley for this review copy.
December 28, 2016
I've read other books about Warhol, when I was a teenager (over 20 years ago now, but I still remember some things well). What sets this book apart is its objective criticalness. The author clearly knew Andy personally. Maybe this is why he gets it and is willing to admit that the undeniably great and significant artist wasn't always a good person. I liked the way Koch writes about art and culture. I wasn't so interested in Warhol's films, but there was definitely good, fairly interesting stuff there.
October 8, 2020
“My conflict is that I am shy and yet I like to take up a lot of personal space.” Andy Warhol
Stargazer: The Life, World, and Films of Andy Warhol by Stephen Koch is an examination of Warhol’s films. Koch has taught creative writing at Columbia and Princeton for nearly twenty years. His other works The Breaking Point: Hemingway, Dos Passos, and the Murder of José Robles and the extremely interesting sounding Double Lives: Spies and Writers in the Secret Soviet War of Ideas Against the West.
Stargazer is unique because it concentrates on the films of Warhol rather than his other art. There is a brief introduction and explanation of how he was influenced by Duchamp. The assassination attempt by Valerie Solanas and his death experience are also covered. There is also mention of the most famous photograph of Warhol, exposing his scars to photographer Richard Avedon. A chapter is dedicated to the concept of Bohemia and the different layers of it. Koch also uses Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wildside to introduce some of the personalities in Warhol’s life. Reed, to the surprise of many used real names in the song. A little piece of information that I was unaware of was that Warhol was a habitual reader of books, and bought the movie rights to a Clockwork Orange because he thought it ought to make a good movie.
His early black and white movies are covered in detail. An interesting bit of information on the films is that they were shot at 24 frames per second and played back at 16 frames a second to give it a barely slow motion feel. Several of his movies are covered in detail including Sleep, The Thirteen Most Beautiful Women, The Thirteen Most Beautiful Boys, Sleep, Empire, Haircut, and Blow Job from his silent period. Also covered in this period was his portrait making machine that used 100 feet of film to make a portrait of a person. The subjects varied from the famous to whom Warhol thought looked interesting at the moment.
Stargazer is an interesting look at Warhol through his films and the events that surround his vision for the time and the evolution of his vision. Although a little light as a complete biography, Stargazer is the most comprehensive book I have read on Warhol films.
Stargazer: The Life, World, and Films of Andy Warhol by Stephen Koch is an examination of Warhol’s films. Koch has taught creative writing at Columbia and Princeton for nearly twenty years. His other works The Breaking Point: Hemingway, Dos Passos, and the Murder of José Robles and the extremely interesting sounding Double Lives: Spies and Writers in the Secret Soviet War of Ideas Against the West.
Stargazer is unique because it concentrates on the films of Warhol rather than his other art. There is a brief introduction and explanation of how he was influenced by Duchamp. The assassination attempt by Valerie Solanas and his death experience are also covered. There is also mention of the most famous photograph of Warhol, exposing his scars to photographer Richard Avedon. A chapter is dedicated to the concept of Bohemia and the different layers of it. Koch also uses Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wildside to introduce some of the personalities in Warhol’s life. Reed, to the surprise of many used real names in the song. A little piece of information that I was unaware of was that Warhol was a habitual reader of books, and bought the movie rights to a Clockwork Orange because he thought it ought to make a good movie.
His early black and white movies are covered in detail. An interesting bit of information on the films is that they were shot at 24 frames per second and played back at 16 frames a second to give it a barely slow motion feel. Several of his movies are covered in detail including Sleep, The Thirteen Most Beautiful Women, The Thirteen Most Beautiful Boys, Sleep, Empire, Haircut, and Blow Job from his silent period. Also covered in this period was his portrait making machine that used 100 feet of film to make a portrait of a person. The subjects varied from the famous to whom Warhol thought looked interesting at the moment.
Stargazer is an interesting look at Warhol through his films and the events that surround his vision for the time and the evolution of his vision. Although a little light as a complete biography, Stargazer is the most comprehensive book I have read on Warhol films.
August 11, 2025
Interesting, dense, sometimes oddly neoconservative defence of the great man's boring/interesting films, with a retrospectively hilarious philistine swipe at the Velvet Underground, a Warhol production that has aged far better than most of what is discussed here.
December 7, 2007
Strange enough this maybe the only critique of Warhol's films in book form. Considering that there must be hundreds of books on Warhol - but very little on his film work - which I think is his major art.
It's strange to think about it, but I "worked" with him on "Tarzan and Jane Regained Sort of..." and I have no memory of him whatsoever. I remember the day quite clearly, and I know he was there, but I just don't remember his presence.
It's strange to think about it, but I "worked" with him on "Tarzan and Jane Regained Sort of..." and I have no memory of him whatsoever. I remember the day quite clearly, and I know he was there, but I just don't remember his presence.
May 31, 2008
This book is an interesting analysis of not only Warhol's films but Warhol himself. It is an interesting read. I liked reading this and then reading Warhol's books he wrote with Pat Hackett like the Philosophy of Andy Warhol and Popism.
April 18, 2014
I really enjoyed this book and was excited to actually learn a bit about who Andy Warhol was. I'll definitely check out his movies now that I know where his inspiration came from.
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January 16, 2015
Define: Bloviate.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews