Unidentified Man 1972

This photographic print of an Unidentified Man was shot by Andy Warhol sometime in his lifetime. It has a dreamy quality, doesn’t it? I can imagine Andy in a room full of people, observing faces and outfits and thinking, "Yes, you, into the camera!" The colours are muted and soft, and there's a slight blur that almost feels like a painting. The man's turtleneck and patterned jacket really place this photograph in the late 70s or early 80s. It has that retro coolness that Warhol loved to capture. I like how Warhol's portraits often feel so casual, as though he snapped them while catching up. He sees something that interests him, and bam!, a new work is born. I think that his off-the-cuff approach allows for an authenticity that continues to speak to people today. There is also an interesting relationship to his series of celebrity portraits—a regular person immortalized like a superstar.