Nico, the artist who sings at parties but is always alone

Initially, Warhol and his associates chose cinema not only for its artistic and narrative possibilities, but also because the pre-production, shooting, development and editing processes required more time than painting. But Warhol wanted to keep experimenting with other languages, and after making movies like: sleeping – which poet John Giorno slept more than five hours in front of the camera—, food -Showing the painter Robert Indiana eating-, blowjob —While not obvious, whose title does not deceive the audience when it comes to showing fallatio- or empire He decided to apply his particular philosophy of art and commerce—an eight-hour slow motion still shot of the Empire State Building—to the field of music.

To this end, Warhol took the then-unknown New York gang under his wing. Velvet UndergroundHe signed a contract with MGM, financed the recording of his debut album, and designed one of popular music’s most iconic covers, albeit with one condition: that they accept him to perform some of the songs. NicoGerman model and actress, whom Warhol met in Paris in 1965, whom she thought brought personality to the group.

In May of that year, the American artist went to the capital of France to present his exhibition. Flowers. Nico had lived for several years in the city he came from, escaping a complicated childhood marked by Nazism. II. World War, the absence of the father registered with the Wehrmacht, the passage through a Reich orphanage, and even her rape by an American soldier after the Allies liberated Berlin. Tall, skinny, with prominent cheekbones and a deep voice that hypnotizes thanks to his particular method of pronouncing words by lengthening syllables, Nico in Paris sought to forget this traumatic past by developing a dissolving career in Paris as a model for magazines like the one below. fashion Y He After all, he also opened the doors of the acting world.

“I dreamed of you. I recognize your face,” he admitted. Federico Fellini when the model coincided with her on one of her trips to Rome. “You must be a star Dolce Life“, said the director, who kept his word and included him in the cast. Although his role was brief, Nico stood out above many of the other actors in the film. Paris, the painter, among other things, already knew exactly who he was because he had photographs of the scenes in which he appeared. , pasted the clippings and memories into one of the albums he had collected.

Even though Nico already rubbed shoulders with the stars gang baker, Bob Dylan -who he was in a relationship with- or Alain Delon – father of his child BeeAlthough the French actor still doesn’t want to admit it, Nico’s arrival at Warhol’s Factory made him a superstar. She starred in one of the painter’s famous screen tests, frequently attended parties organized by the artist, attended the openings of the most prestigious galleries, and recorded songs like the following with The Velvet Underground. I will be your mirror, femme fatal and Warhol’s favorite song, All Tomorrow’s Parties. He also acted in the movie. chelseagirls. After leaving The Factory, he started a solo music career, became addicted to opium and IbizaThe island where he died in a ridiculous moped accident in 1988.

FORGOTTEN BY EVERYONE

The Velvet Underground in 1996 Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe highest recognition for an American rock artist. At the ceremony presented by meatball makerjoined John Cale, Lou Reed, Moe Tucker Y Sterling MorrisonThe original members of the group, aware of the importance of action, put aside their personal fights. However, despite being a member of The Velvet Underground’s original cast, Nico’s name was not mentioned by the organizers or his former bandmates.

Ten years later, a group of councilors from his hometown, Cologne, offered to dedicate a square to him, the attempt was refused because the artist was a drug addict, it was less of an honorable nuisance to Colon councilors than being a slave owner, an exploitative businessman, a bloodthirsty monarch, or similar profiles. . “Nico was undervalued for most of his life and has been forgotten and discarded since his death. On the other hand, it’s easy to cast aside someone who doesn’t dare to live by socially accepted normality,” he commented. Jennifer Otter BickerdikeDoctor of Cultural Studies specializing in rock, biography of Nico, You are beautiful and lonelyPublished in Spanish by Contra publishing house.

While now forgotten by the younger generation, for several decades the figure of Nico was the subject of several biographies, suffering from a trait that has marked the evolution of rock music and the construction of their stories since its origins. : to be written by men.

“Popular music of the 20th century was an art that was predominantly produced and narrated by men. That’s why I think it’s very important that Nico’s story is told at the end by a woman. In fact, almost all the criticism and interviews written about him are through the lens of the masculine gender, his Nico is still valued primarily for her looks and is often referred to as the ‘loss’ of her ‘once-wonderful beauty’.’ Age discrimination is not just real, it’s more pervasive today than ever before, especially when trying to be a woman or a woman. ruthless and ruthless if you dare to describe it as,” explains Bickerdike, whose purpose in writing You are beautiful and lonely in this sense, it was to differentiate itself from previous studies without giving up rigor or accurate research.

“With so many myths surrounding Nico, it was imperative that my biography be as factual as possible and separate fact from fiction. No other book about him has done this before. For example, in these other works it is unclear where and when the interviews were kept or the information was originally from. “So discovering the truth was a priority for me,” explains the author.

Despite the machismo, the laziness of some critics who, instead of simply valuing Nico’s original and creative musical proposal, demanded of him to repeat over and over again what he had done with the pioneering German artist The Velvet Underground. for women who made music in the years that followed. “Nico’s influence was so vast. He was unique. He made the music because he had to make it, not because he wanted to be a ‘brand’ or ‘followers’ or anything like that. He wouldn’t have been able to improve his work if he had not paved the way for the strange and crazy”, says Otter Bickerdike, who knows the artist’s career, convinced that this effect was not at all premeditated. . “I don’t think Nico has any plans for his life other than escaping the hell of Nazi Germany into which he was born.”

The artist who sings at parties but is always alone is Nico.