Rob Pruitt, Creator of ‘The Andy Monument’

What’s with the Bloomingdale’s bag?
I read that Andy Warhol always had a shopping bag with him filled with candy bars and copies of Interview magazine.

So you just guessed it was from Bloomingdale’s?
He once said, “Death is like going to Bloomingdale’s.” He thought it was a heavenly place.

And the suit?
It’s the style he wore in the seventies, when his studio was at Union Square: tweed Brooks Brothers jackets, Levi’s 501 jeans, and a rep tie—those silk ones, with the stripes. It’s what he was wearing when I applied for a job at his studio.

What was that interview like?
He asked me about my job history, but I had really only had one job to date—working in a Häagen-Dazs in Georgetown. He laughed and shouted to the next office, “Hey Brigid! This young guy can get us all the free ice cream we can eat!” Then Brigid Berlin shouted back, “Hire him!”

So you got the job?
I did, but I didn’t take it. It didn’t pay, and I had no money.

See Also:
Jerry Saltz on the Unveiling of The Andy Monument

Interview by Rachel Wolff.