Andy, David Hockney and two unidentified men

A compulsive collector, Andy Warhol preserves and accumulates thousands of flyers, newspaper clippings, autographs, invitations to openings, and clothes worn by his close ones, among other objects and documents that traverse his daily life. In the same vein, he records his social activities with his camera and dictaphone, which accompany him everywhere. He thus creates a sprawling photographic portrait of the New York scene from the 1960s to the 1980s. These photographs and recordings are added to the other memories he has been collecting since 1974 in boxes – the Time Capsules. These approximately 600 boxes preserved today at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh are as much the personal archives of the artist as they are of his era.

You encounter prominent personalities in the social and cultural spheres there – those who mingle at night, especially in the galleries, diners, and nightclubs of the capital. Warhol encounters as many artists like Ellsworth Kelly or David Hockney, visible in these snapshots, as he does wealthy heirs, music stars, and fashion figures. Warhol moves from one sphere to another, faithful to the idea that the democratic dimension of the United States operates thanks to the wide accessibility of capitalist products. In My Philosophy from A to B and Back Again, he writes in 1977, "What is wonderful about this country is that America has created a tradition where the richest consumers buy the same thing as the poorest." You can watch television and see Coca-Cola, you know that the President drinks Coca-Cola, that Liz Taylor drinks Coca-Cola, and, imagine that, you can drink Coca-Cola yourself. A Coke is always a Coke, and even with a lot of money, you won't get a better Coke. (...) The idea of America is wonderful, because the more equal something is, the more American it is. Following this ideal, everyone has their place in the abundant archives that Warhol creates, thereby gaining guaranteed posterity.