Interview with Christopher Makos and Peter Wise
Finally, it is a golden autumn day in New York, the sun is shining , it is a perfect Wednesday afternoon towards dusk, the west side on 23rd street is always busy with so many fashion designer’s shops, and famous grocery stores like Trader Joe, Eataly, and the subway stations connects many trains.
It is still warm weather. I brought frozen Frappachino from next to Duane Reade and met with John Chang at 20 West 20th Street, and then came to room 1104, this is the Makos Photography Studio I zigzaged down the 11th floor. Chris’s bike with an unusual high seat always stay outside the door like a guardian. After just one knock, Peter opened the door with a nice smile, he has come from the other side of the room from his desk, and Chris stand up near the door with greetings. The wooden floor, the large window with a squared glass mirror in the center and more than 10 feet high ceiling showed the age of this old building, hung on the wall and piled to the ceiling, are Makos’s photography, many of them are photos of Andy Warhol.
We chatted about the travel plan that Chris liked, and went together to choose 10 promotional shots for the upcoming exhibition. I am delighted that Chris pointed out there is one important portrait of Andy Warhol which he adored that has been passed over. No doubt, we switched with another one to replace it with this favorite Warhol portrait for the exhibition and for promotional use.
Both Chris and Peter spent more than ten years with Andy during his last decade. Of cause, I am curious, on how they met.
Chris said, that was how Andy got to know me. In 1978, I had an exhibition at the Men’s Carsis Duty Club, Andy came to photograph the exhibit that I had displayed on the floor . That was how I met Andy. Later, Bob Colacello asked me to come to the Factory in the real setting to take pictures . The more Andy knew me, the more he realized my value, he loved the idea that photography is faster than painting. I was young then, but knew more about photography than he did, he introduced me to rich upper class clients, and I introduced him to my downtown connections. We needed each other, it was like the perfect marriage that happened at the right time and the right place.
Look around the room, Chris suddenly commented: dying is such an abstract thing. Andy was so involved in so many things, like a piece of furniture, it can last for a long, long time, though Andy has been gone for decades, he is still so present in our world.
We were often hanging out together, those ten years were the Renaissance of Andy’s portrait carrier. He did so many people’s portrait. Especially in Germany, in that boring Barn, because the dealer who handled Andy’s portrait commissions lived there, had a castle, we all lived there for years, very boring, Andy did so may portraits for various people, though the critics think he’s not too good, he needed to do portraits for a living, he did it for Bruno Bischofberger, Anthony d’Offay, and many others.
Andy in fact had four businesses: publishing, magazine “Interview”, film, and painting. The film was not making money at all, it was just what he loved, and the publishing and magazine almost made it, he relied on painting to make money.
Peter stepped into the conversation to say, Andy often said that he needed to bring home the bacon to take care of the kids. Andy had various assistants in his studio, about 25 to 28 people, plus his personal assistant. He had a lot of people to take care of.
Chris continued to say: It was fun hanging out with Andy. He loved flying on the concord in the 80’s that was my favorite as well. Those speedy planes started by Air France and later by British Airways connected people from Europe to America and selected Asian countries, and offered the “Gift of Time”.
Andy liked very much going out for meals at the beginning, he loved gossip. At that time, he enjoyed a couple of Chinese restaurants, Pearl’s, on 47 street, between 5th-6th Ave, and another one called Mr. Chow’s on 57 street and 2nd Ave. He traded two portraits of the restaurant owners Mr. and Mrs. Chow, in exchange for his meals there for years. He liked spare ribs and mushu pork, that can be wrapped in soft pancake and rolled up to eat.. He also loved Italian food and often went to Ballato’s on Houston Street, 4 blocks from where Rauschenberg lived.
After all, Andy was a human being, like any regular person, like my good friend, the famous designer Calvin Klein. When I go to have a meal with Calvin, I tell him that I do not like to talk. Then Calvin says, you just drink and eat. I will talk, you just listen. I actually met Calvin in an elevator, years ago.
EXHIBITION
The Andy Warhol We Know : Christopher Makos
From December 29th, 2015 to February 29th, 2016
Tan Guobin Contemporary Art Museum
No.50, Dongfeng Road, Changsha
China
http://www.makostudio.com
