Mrs. George (Sarah) Goldsmith 1985

Andy Warhol made this Polaroid of Mrs. George (Sarah) Goldsmith, and, like a lot of his portraits, it's about surface, about how we present ourselves. It's got that classic Warhol thing, where the colors are almost unreal, heightened. Think about the texture – it's smooth, almost too perfect. The whiteness of her skin against the bright red of her lips makes you focus on artifice. It's not about capturing a likeness, it’s about constructing an image. Look at how the color seems to float on the surface; he really knew how to flatten an image in the best possible way. Warhol was a master of capturing the fleeting moment, but at the same time, he was turning his subjects into icons, kinda like Jasper Johns did with the American flag. Both artists challenge our notions of originality and representation. Ultimately, this piece isn't trying to reveal some hidden truth. It's about the performance, the image, and the ambiguity of it all.