La Jolla is home to a number of exclusive fine art galleries and a well-known art museum. But on July 29, Barfly, a restaurant and nightclub, will set the scene for a unique occasion that is of cultural prominence and artistic allure. As part of the La Jolla Fashion Film Festival, celebrity photographer Karen Bystedt will be unveiling four 40-by-40-inch never-before-seen portraits of Andy Warhol — one of the art world’s most coveted icons. The photographs, which have been stored away in the photographer’s garage since 1982, will have their world debut at the festival’s opening night directors’ reception, and then they will go on view downstairs the next day, July 30, on Barfly’s outside patio. The pieces will be open to the public at the venue, located at 909 Prospect St. Exact viewing times are to be announced. Bystedt, then an ambitious film student at New York University, said the photographs were taken as part of a student project capturing the images of male models. “There were so many female models, but nobody did anything on male models,” said the photographer in a phone interview from her Los Angeles studio. “I saw an ad with Andy in it. He had a white, white wig. It was a cool ad and he was an artist. On the one hand I had all these preppy, jocky, muscley guys, but I thought it would be cool to have an artist as a model as well.” Bystedt said she called The Factory, Warhol’s original New York City studio, and she was surprised when the artist himself answered the phone. “I told him about the idea and he said “sure.” He really loved the idea,” said Bystedt. “In his interview with me he said he loved it when people looked at him as a model.” Bystedt has since gone on to have a fruitful celebrity photography career, photographing the likes of Brad Pitt, Josh Brolin, Johnny Depp, Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, just to name a few. She said she read a Financial Times article recently that discussed how Warhol’s art is “going through the roof” and got the idea to dig up the negative from that 1982 shoot and share the images with the world. Although there are many photos of Warhol out there, Bystedt said, the ones that have been sitting in her garage are of particular rarity. “He didn’t do a lot sitting for people,” she said. “This is one of the only shoots he did.” Arlene Weiss, who is helping organize the showing, said the photographs will be on sale for $25,000 each and will only appear in a few viewings. After La Jolla, they will head to Los Angeles and then Miami. Weiss said that after finding out about the La Jolla Fashion Film Festival, which is embarking this month on its second year, she said she knew the event was the perfect backdrop for the rare photographs’ introduction to the world. “[Warhol] would have never wanted to have his photos up on a wall and have nothing going on around them. Following Warhol and his relationship to art, film, fashion and people in general, I thought the festival would be a good fit,” said Weiss. “I also think the festival is incredible, something I’d like to see build out and tour. I think Warhol, if he were around, he’d want to be part of something like this.” For La Jolla Fashion Film Festival (www.ljfff.com) information contact Fred Sweet at [email protected].
