EMPIRE OF BORING: THE UNBEARABLE DURATION OF ANDY WARHOL'S FILMSI've been quoted a lot as saying, 'I like boring things.' Well I said it and I meant it. But that does not mean I'm not bored by them.(1) Warhol's MeaninglessnessIn his 1965 film Poor Little Rich Girl, Andy Warhol presents a motionless shot of Edie Sedgwick engaged in a series of everyday activities - talking on the telephone, modelling a new coat, and the like - the first 33-minutes of which is presented out of focus. Having watched a number of Warhol's films, this opening sequence of formless shapes and disembodied voices stands out as the most difficult time I have spent attempting to "watch" a film. The difficulty with viewing Warhol's films in general stems from his employment of structuralist tactics, specifically filming with a static camera, using long-takes and not editing the film....
