Fame Is Not What It Is Said To Be

When Andy Warhol said  'In the future
everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes'
he had thought through what fame meant.

He saw celebrity through the lens of the films
he made of everyone who came to his studio, 'The Factory'.

Without exception, they all faced a running movie camera
with nobody behind it looking into a clearly fake set.
Whilst Andy said 'I'm busy, just look into this.
This will be your portrait. I'll be back in five minutes'.
They became known as his screen tests.

Because nobody can hold an expression
of reaction without someone to react to
then the any fixed expression on the face of his guests
soon started to slip, until even the waxed moustache
on that most disciplined self publicist, Salavador Dali,
drooped for the camera like it only did in private.

So there it is; fifteen minutes of celebrity
is about the smile slowly dissolving from the faces
of those who most consistently seek the camera's lens.