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![](warholNavas2.jpg)
Photo of The Andy Warhol Diaries cover, taken by Eduardo Navas, December, 2007.
Diary
of
a
Star
is
a
critical
take
on
blogging
that
appropriates
selections
from
the
Andy
Warhol
Diaries.
This project started on 2/28/2004 and ended on 12/31/2007. Originally, I expected to finish it in one year (thirty selected diary entries per year blogged per month), but in the end it took me three years; and this is the only thing that changed from the critical outline that follows below. When necessary, I planned to take no more than a month off from the diaries because of other commitments, but as it turned out at times I took several months off. This could not be helped. What should matter is the integrity of the accounts currently present in this blog. You will find many voices on both sides of the blog, simply because that's life: people live, and die. If after browsing through the entries you feel like dropping me a line for critical feedback or just a question, please don't hesitate to do so: eduardo_at_navasse_dot_net
Eduardo Navas
12/31/2007
Blogging
is
an
online
activity
blurring
the
line of
the
private
and
public,
something
Warhol
was
interested
in
doing
in
all
of
his
work.
As
it
is
commonly
known,
a
blog
(short
for
weblog)
is
basically
an
online
journal
where
the
writer,
who
is
called
a
blogger,
posts
entries
for
online
readers.
The
blogs
are
mostly
informal
and
extremely
biased.
Sometimes
bloggers,
as
they
realize
that
their
logs
have
an
increasing
audience,
may
tailor
their
entries
to
accommodate
the
readers.
This
is
not
always
the
case
but
it
does
happen,
particularly
if
the
blogger
has
a
way
of
letting
the
readers
comment
on
the
postings
via
a
feedback
form.
The
format
of
the
blog
is
similar
to
diary
entries,
only
on
the
Web
the
content
is
exposed
to
an
unknown
public.
This
uncertainty
places
the
blogger
in
an
odd
place
where
the
writing
can
at
times
be
intimate
along
the
lines
of
a
personal
journal
while
functioning
in
a
public
arena;
because
bloggers
are
implicitly
aware
of
this,
the
entries
can
be
considered
tainted.
And
here
the
private
public
dichotomy
that
Andy
Warhol
was
so
interested
in
exploring
becomes
exposed.
The
Andy
Warhol
Diaries
function
in
much
the
same
way
as
blogs
do
today;
this
may
be
due
to
Warhol's
awareness
of
his
public
persona.
The
diaries
read
as
though
he
knew
that
his
material
would
be
published
at
one
point.
Indeed,
his
entries
when
read
online,
especially
when
links
are
added,
are
quite
fascinating.
They
read
as
though
he
wrote
them
a
few
hours
before,
just
like
an
average
blogger
would
do
on
an
ordinary
day.
But
the
credit
should
really
go
to
Pat
Hackett,
who
edited
the
diaries,
and
who
wrote
all
the
original
entries
when
Warhol
called
her
in
the
morning
to
tell
her
about
the
previous
day.
Ultimately,
it
may
be
her
editing
that
makes
the
Warhol
Diaries
read
as
an
early
printed
version
of
a
blog.
The
Andy
Warhol
Diaries
was
edited
by
Pat
Hackett
from
a
set
of
entries
primarily
used
as
Tax
expense
records.
After
Andy's
death
on
February
22,
1987
Hackett
realized
that
the
tax
logs
contained
rich
material
that
could
become
the
ultimate
portrait
of
Warhol.
The
result
is
a
set
of
diary
entries
that
tell
us
about
Warhol's
idiosyncrasies
while
doing
what
he
did
best:
expose
the
rich
and
famous
in
unique
moments
that
at
times
could
even
be
considered
embarrassing.
I
use
selections
of
the
Andy
Warhol
Diaries
in
the
form
of
a
blog
to
comment
on
diary
entries,
the
private
and
public,
the
idea
of
a
celebrity
and
her
life
as
a
public
persona,
and
the
activity
of
web-surfing
as
part
of
a
new
social
space.
The
way
the
project
works
is
I
select
an
entry
from
Warhol's
diary
and
type
it
verbatim
on
the
blog
to
the
right
called
"diary."
I
create
links
of
people
and
places
that
Warhol
mentions.
I
then
comment
on
the
people
and/or
the
entry
itself
on
the
blog
to
the
left
called
"meta
diary."
What
I
write
always
depends
on
how
I
relate
to
Warhol's
entry
as
well
as
what
I
learn
while
surfing
the
links
his
entry
provided.
The
entries
correspond
by
date. The way they are recontextualized as a blog allows for the online user to recognize the aura of Warhol, as well as the autonomy of the work as an allegorical piece of art. To accentuate this dynamic, the comments I make are separated from Warhol’s entries in the archives. The user can only read them seperately and must move back and forth between them. I
will
often
take
more
than
half
a
day
to
post
my
own
entry,
so
chances
are
that
when
the
reader
visits
this
website
the
"meta-diary"
will
be
a
day
behind.
Diary
of
a
Star
was
inspired
by
Baudelaire's
dandy,
also
known
as
a
Flaneur.
During
a
creative
critical
writing
Ph.D.
seminar
I
took
with
Lesley
Stern
at
UCSD
in
the
Winter
quarter
of
2004,
I
was
expected
to
write
a
critical
essay
that
was
creative
and
which
problematized
the
usual
academic
approach
to
writing.
My
response
was
an
essay
which
combined
Baudelaire's
Flaneur
and
Andy
Warhol's
persona
as
the
subjects
of
modernity
and
postmodernity,
respectively.
The
essay
explains
how
they
become
my
avatars
to
surf
the
web.
This
is
why
the
log
entries
are
posted
by
"dandy"
in
Andy's
log
(right)
and
by
"meta-dandy"
in
my
own
log
(left).
The
essay
is now part of this project and can be read as a pdf file. A corresponding link is at the top of this page.
This
project
consists
of
two
parts.
The
first
is
from
March
28,
2004
to
May
11,
2004.
The
second
starts
on
July
1,
2004
and
is
still
going
on.
The
first
half
has
entries
from
the
first
two
months
of
Warhol's
diaries.
After
writing
for
sometime,
I
came
to
realize
that
it
would
take
me
about
ten
years
to
write
all
of
the
Warhol
diaries
online.
I
do
not
have
this
kind
of
time
to
devote
to
the
project
so
I
decided
to
break
it
down
to
a
more
manageable
time
period
of
ten
months,
which
means
that
each
year
equals
a
month.
How
this
works
is
actually
in
the
meta-dandy
blog
entry
of
May
11,
2004.
It
is
quoted
below
and
you
can
also
visit
the
actual
entry
here.
Following
is
the
May
11,
2004
entry:
Tuesday,
May
11,
2004
Today
I
should
comment
on
Kitty
Miller's
party
because
this
is
the
corresponding
entry
by
Andy,
but
instead
I
find
the
need
to
layout
important
paradigms
for
the
future
of
this
project.
This
particular
entry
marks
an
important
time
in
the
development
of
"Diary
of
a
Star"
(that's
this
website).
Because
the
original
entries
by
Andy
in
The
Andy
Warhol
Diaries
span
over
a
period
of
ten
years,
I
have
come
to
realize
that
I
will
not
be
able
to
write
about
his
diary
everyday
for
ten
years.
My
resources
are
limited
and
it
is
unreasonable
for
me
to
commit
to
such
a
long
term
task.
Instead
I
have
opted
to
select
from
the
material
that
was
originally
published
by
Pat
Hackett.
This
means
that
I
will
choose
entries
from
her
selected
entries.
I
will
not
edit
the
actual
entries;
these
will
be
posted
as
they
appear
in
her
book.
I
will
add
links
and
comments
on
the
"meta
diary"
(that's
this
page),
to
critique
on
the
activity
of
blogging
in
relationship
to
diary
writing.
Pat
Hackett
selected
the
material
published
in
the
book
from
a
much
larger
pool
of
entries.
What
Hackett
is
doing
when
she
edits
the
diaries
is
becoming
an
author
in
her
own
right.
She
has
left
out
material
that
the
reader
must
wonder
about,
and
created
her
own
narrative
of
Andy.
In
a
sense,
then,
when
reading
Andy's
diaries,
the
reader
is
compelled
to
wonder
about
the
other
entries
Hackett
did
not
choose,
as
well
as
the
parts
she
edited
out
of
the
days
she
did
choose
to
publish.
This
process
of
selection
exposes
Hackett
as
an
author,
as
a
person
who
selected
according
to
what
she
deemed
important.
So,
in
a
sense
when
reading
the
Warhol
Diaries,
we
are
reading
a
portrait
of
Andy
that
was
constructed
by
Hackett
as
editor.
With
all
this
in
mind,
I
find
it
more
appropriate
that
I
choose
from
Hackett's
choices.
This
strategy
will
also
further
comment
on
new
media's
dependency
on
metalanguages
to
function;
that
is,
Hackett
filtered
material
for
the
reader,
then
the
reader
(me,
the
book
reader)
re-filters
this
material
for
other
readers
(you,
the
web
surfer).
My
main
objective
is
to
comment
on
blogging
and
its
relationship
to
diary
entries,
the
private
and
public,
the
idea
of
a
celebrity
and
its
life
as
a
public
persona,
and
the
activity
of
web-surfing
as
a
new
social
space;
all
these
interests
come
to
be
reinforced
by
my
own
editing
of
Hackett's
editing.
So,
from
now
on,
I
will
choose
selections
from
the
10
year
span
published
by
Hacket
as
The
Andy
Warhol
Diaries
for
10
months.
This
means
that
for
each
month
there
will
be
about
thirty
entries
comprising
a
year,
starting
with
1977.
Due
to
everyday
logistics,
it
might
be
necessary
for
me
to
have
a
month
off
from
time
to
time;
however,
all
sets
of
entries
will
usually
be
started
on
the
first
of
the
month
and
end
on
the
last
day
of
the
month.
In
this
way,
the
reader,
while
becoming
aware
of
my
appropriation
of
pre-published
material,
may
have
the
desire
to
find
out
what
material
I
did
not
choose
and,
therefore,
might
consider
reading
the
actual
diary,
which
is
absolutely
fascinating.
So
the
first
edited
entries
will
start
on
July
1,
2004.
Like
the
previous
entries,
I
will
first
post
Andy's
original
journal
entry,
and
then
I
will
comment
on
his
material
on
this
page.
meta-dandy
[+]
...
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