Self-Portrait with Fright Wig 1986

This Polaroid, by Andy Warhol, captures an almost casual moment, a little glimpse into the artist's playful, performative take on identity. What strikes me is the immediacy of the photograph, it's like a quick sketch with light. The wig is obviously fake and looks like it's about to slide right off his head. But it also creates this halo effect, a kind of off-kilter, punkish aura. Look at the way the whiteness of the wig almost bleeds into the background, blurring the edges. It’s like the hair becomes this electric, abstract shape. The dark turtleneck gives a stark contrast to the brightness above, drawing your eye right up to that crown of unruly white. It reminds me a bit of some of the raw energy you see in the work of artists like Mike Kelley, that willingness to embrace the absurd, the imperfect, the slightly unsettling. Warhol was always pushing the boundaries of what art could be, turning the everyday into something iconic and strange.