In 1963 Andy Warhol gave Billy Name a 35-millimeter Honeywell Pentax camera, and he became the resident photographer and documentarian of The Factory days... at least for 7 years. He stopped in 1970 partly because of the businesslike attitude Warhol was adopting. But the NY Times reports that Name is now missing his archive of negatives! The photographer, who lives in Poughkeepsie, told them they're "in ghost land, man."
The negatives went missing in the last two years, and the paper points out they are really the only documentation of Wahol's Silver Factory on East 47th Street and its later home near Union Square. Name says they were left in the care of photography agent Kevin Kushel, who formed his own stock-photography company and was to scan them. However, after some erratic behavior Name finally ended their business relationship and asked for his negatives back (he makes his income from selling the hi-res scans). Not one has been returned, and Name says he's not sure "how to deal with something like this."
The paper tracked Kushel down, and he told them, “I’m moving as fast as possible to rectify a situation in which I was basically sabotaged. They are not missing. They’re just sort of being held captive... by people who want money.” Where could they be? Photography dealer Steven Kasher in Chelsea says he was approached by two antiques dealers that said they bought the negatives at an auction for an unclaimed lot left in a Lower Manhattan mini-storage warehouse! Currently, both Kushel and Name are seeking the advice of lawyers.
