He was into voyeurism, which moves in, close, as close as possible, stopping on the subject until it’s uncomfortable. Andy was not into entertainment, which moves along. In describing “Chelsea Girls,” she writes, “Warhol movies are not narrative, linear or entertaining. “Eyewitness to Warhol,” however, is more analytical.

“Snake: A Novel,” and “Niagara,” her most recent book, were both published in Britain by Serpent’s Tail. She may have 72 film credits to her name (her favorite being “Eating Raoul,” in which she co-starred as one half of the murderous couple), but since the success of “Swimming Underground,” she has turned to writing, mostly concentrating on fiction. Walls are lined with books, and she writes at a big table looking out onto a courtyard. The rooms are hung with dozens of landscape and figure paintings by Woronov, who has never given up making art despite almost failing the subject at school.Įverywhere, however, there is evidence of her most recent occupation: author. She has painted the walls of the tiny house in bright colors, and the upstairs studio floor is lime green. Woronov, 60, lives with her dog, Tina, and cat, Ashley, in what she calls a “witch’s cottage” off Beverly Boulevard in Hollywood. She offers a unique firsthand account of her experience observing Warhol socially and as one of his actors. Woronov is a survivor, one of the few of the Factory denizens still alive. Dailey, whose eponymous company occasionally published books on the arts, found Woronov’s accounts of working with Warhol to be refreshingly irreverent: “acerbic, insightful and accurate” are her words.Īlthough Woronov’s first book was autobiographical, in these essays she describes Warhol’s filmmaking process and philosophy. Her publisher is art historian Victoria Dailey, who became intrigued through informal conversations with Woronov. This slim, silver-paper-bound volume is a much more objective view. This is Woronov’s second book devoted to Warhol her first, “Swimming Underground,” a memoir of her life at the Factory, came out in 1995.

Mary woronov swimming underground