Andy Warhol Collaborator Bob Colacello on Identity and Reinvention

Throughout his career, Bob Colacello has found himself in “unexpected” places—unexpectedly as a documentary photographer (with his “OUT” column in Interview magazine), as an exclusive writer for Vanity Fair, and now, as a curator for Vito Schnabel Gallery in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and associate director of the Peter Marino Art Foundation in Southampton, New York. As such, he considers himself “lucky enough to be in the middle of” art history. But there is certainly more than luck to blame for Colacello’s immense success, which began with his 13-year stint in Andy Warhol’s Factory.

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Elizabeth Fazzare

October 11, 2022

A man standing outside. — Writer Bob Colacello. Photography by Philip Howard.

What are the key ingredients to a great career?

Andy always said, “Keep it fast, cheap, easy, and modern,” which is another way of saying, do what comes naturally to you. If you are trying too hard, you’ve probably taken a wrong turn.

Was there a time that you wanted to quit?

After working with Warhol for 13 years, I resigned as executive editor of Interview magazine in 1983. It was hard, because the Factory was like a family. But you can only stay close to a genius for so long before you start to lose any identity of your own. I’ve always heard that when you close one door, another one opens. Within a couple of months, Condé Nast relaunched Vanity Fair and I landed an exclusive writer’s contract that ran for 35 years.

How important is reinvention to you? How important is progress?

Reinvention only works if it’s authentic. Progress is a function of continuing curiosity.

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