What Was Warhol's Influence on Dylan?

e-Interpretation May 2012 from the "Screen Test"

Dylan's intersection with Andy Warhol seems to have been inevitable. The emerging icon and established icon were both inhabitants of what was then the cultural center of the world.

The Screen Test  
Bob Dylan's encounter with Andy Warhol's camera, known as the "Screen Test," was a brief but iconic moment in both their careers and in the broader context of 1960s pop culture.

Andy Warhol created hundreds of "Screen Tests" during the 1960s. These were short, silent, black-and-white film portraits of various individuals, usually lasting around three r four minutes each. Warhol used his 16mm Bolex camera to capture his subjects, often celebrities and friends, in a fixed frame with minimal direction.

If you go to the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh you can see the setup and actually  participate in your "Screen Test."

Warhol's Screen Tests were not scripted or directed in the traditional sense. Instead, they captured unguarded moments and subtle nuances of the subjects' personalities. 

In the case of Bob Dylan, he visited Warhol's studio, known as The Factory, in 1965. The encounter resulted in a Screen Test session where Dylan was filmed by Warhol. During the session, Dylan exhibited his characteristic enigmatic persona, staring into the camera with his trademark inscrutable expression. The film captures Dylan's face in close-up, allowing viewers to study his features in detail. Some say Dylan was just being Dylan whereas others suggest that he was very uncomfortable.

One of the features of Warhol's persona was the manner in which his personal life remained shrouded in mystery, unavailable to the public till the day he died. This air of mystery created an allure of sorts, not unlike the private spaces Dylan has maintained over the years.

Warhol's observations about pop culture were pointed, not vapid. Dylan's work in the Sixties was equally pointed, right on target and so direct that it was sensationally influential. 

Related Link

The Warhol Museum

Warhol -- A Poem