Marilyn Karp 1974

Andy Warhol made this Polaroid of Marilyn Karp, and, you know, it's interesting to think about the immediacy of it. It’s just got that signature Warholian directness – the subject, Marilyn, caught in a moment, turning to face the camera, you almost get the sense she wasn’t quite ready, and yet, here it is, this picture, an artifact. What I love about Polaroids is that they're like a one-shot deal, there's no messing around, it is what it is, right then and there. And Warhol, with his obsession with pop culture and celebrity, he really saw the beauty in these everyday moments. It feels super personal, like a snapshot from a friend. You could see it alongside the work of someone like Nan Goldin, both capturing these intimate, fleeting moments of life. It reminds us that art doesn’t always have to be some grand statement; sometimes, it’s just about capturing the here and now, the people around us, the connections we make.