Andy Warhol was always fascinated by the nature of celebrity and glamour. The obsession first manifested in his early years, when he collected signed celebrity Polaroids and devoured tabloids – a habit that continued into his adulthood. Naturally, over the course of his career, Andy leapt at the chance to work with celebrities – just a few he painted were Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, and Rolling Stones co-founder, singer, and possible immortal, Mick Jagger.
The full Jagger suite consists of ten screen prints first printed in 1975. The prints owned by Revolver are distinguished by being signed by both Warhol and Jagger himself. The Warhol-Jagger relationship goes back further than these prints; the collaboration began in 1963, when Jagger first approached Warhol about designing an album cover for the Stones. The infamous cover for Sticky Fingers featured model Joe Dallesandro ‘s crotch, up-close and personal in a pair of tight pants. The combination of Andy’s love of the human form and the Stones’ dirty rock-and-roll sex appeal was a hit, and the two artists agreed to collaborate again.
The series of prints are based off original Polaroids taken of Jagger in the Factory. They feature rock’s prime showman in his many states; moody and pouting, laughing and irreverent, haughty and sexually charged. Colors are rather subdued throughout the series; translucent black panels cover large portions of some, grey and brown in others, lending a shadowy air of mystery to the singer. Makeup-like highlights brighten other prints, hinting at the thrilling androgyny the Stones presented in their earlier incarnations. The prints seem to portray Jagger’s past, present and future personas, showing him for the icon he is.
