Warhol’s filmmaking was motivated in large part by his fascination with individuals, but he was also driven by his desire to capture the actual experience of living.

Warhol’s Screen Tests, which number approximately 500, are revealing portraits of hundreds of different individuals, shot between 1964 and 1966. The subjects are both regulars of the Factory scene and new visitors – both famous and anonymous.

They were all asked to pose to be captured by Warhol’s stationary 16 mm Bolex movie camera on silent, black and white, 100-foot rolls of film. Each screen test was exactly the same length, lasting only as long as the roll of film, about 2 ¾ minutes. The resulting films were projected in slow motion so that each lasted approximately four minutes.

For exhibition, Warhol strung the Screen Tests together in a sequence, inducing an almost hypnotic reverie that could „help the audiences get more acquainted with themselves“, as he once said.

Sabine’s Screen Test