Chelsea Girls
Warhol’s groundbreaking dual-screen masterpiece Chelsea Girls (1966) presents themes of beauty, sex, drugs, and danger. Interwoven connections between the residents of the Chelsea Hotel are shown with two projectors, allowing side-by-side simultaneous scenes.
There is so much to unpack in this film, a whole separate essay could be made about it. But these are some of the main points:
The narrative is not linear, with no beginning or end. There are 12 separate scenes showing the happenings from different rooms in the hotel therefore they came with instructions on how to project them, such as which order and how to manipulate the sound because the one of the scenes would be muted while the other was playing.
Fig. 6. Film poster (The Chelsea Girls, at York Cinema, NY), 1966
Every time you watch this film; the narrative will change as there are so many different things to focus on which are happening at the same time. According to David Bate (2016), close-ups in photography help us understand something of the value of the face, this can be applied to film, as in Chelsea Girls, the confusing collection of dialogue with abrupt random close-ups could be viewed as a glimpse into a chaotic subculture, a vision of torment, or the elite of the underground world.
In scenes which feel rushed and eternal at the same time, the avant-garde experimental film features a mix of Warhol’s "superstars" like Nico, Ondine, and Brigid Berlin, as they have wild, drug-fuelled conversations, engage in religious satire, and go through moments of frustration and reflection. Some memorable scenes include Ondine's frantic rants, Brigid Berlin aggressively smashing a pillow, and Nico's quiet, distant presence. Chelsea Girls captures the raw, unfiltered vibe of Warhol’s Factory, offering a glimpse into a world of art, addiction, fame, and chaos—without a clear storyline or resolution.
As mentioned above, in Seeing portraits, Bate (2016) adds another factor to the use of the close-up. The way of satisfying the spectator’s visual pleasure in seeing a star so close. However, Warhol finds a way to contradict this by zooming in during uncomfortable moments, whether it is from the dialogue or the subject.