![\"Billy](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/F-Billy-Name-900x600.jpg\")
Left: Andy Warhol under My Hustler marquee at the Hudson Cinema, 1967, Photo by Billy Name. Right: Nico, Chelsea Girl, 1967, Photo by Billy Name. Images Courtesy of Reel Art Press (RAP)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Left: Andy Warhol under My Hustler marquee at the Hudson Cinema, 1967, Photo by Billy Name. Right: Nico, Chelsea Girl, 1967, Photo by Billy Name. Images Courtesy of Reel Art Press (RAP)<\/p>\n
\nIn the 1960s Andy Warhol’s\u00a0silver spray-painted studio loft, otherwise known as the Factory, was the epicentre of a revolution in the arts. It was the site where Warhol created his iconic films and redefined painting\u00a0as well as\u00a0home to the wildest NYC parties \u2013 soirees that became so infamous they were often\u00a0shut down by the police. And in the midst of all the drugs, avant-garde art and Edie Sedgwick’s radiance there was Billy Name, the man who captured many of those history-changing moments. Billy Name passed away this month, leaving behind his life-long oeuvre and contribution to the world.
\nWilliam Linich Jr. was born in 22 February 1940 in the small conservative city of Poughkeepsie, New York. As he grew older and independent, William decided to move to New York City in search for downtown’s thriving avant-garde art scene. After settling down in the city, Linich\u00a0worked with big names like La Monte Young and the Fluxus group, which back then included young artist Yoko Ono. During this period, Linich worked various\u00a0jobs as a lighting designer, hairdresser and a waiter in order to support his creative career.
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Left: Andy Warhol with Brillo Box and Ruby the cat, 1964, by Billy Name. Right: Silver Coke Bottles drying on the Factory floor, 1964, byBilly Name. Images Courtesy of Reel Art Press (RAP)<\/p>\n
\nWhile working at Serendipity 3 \u2014 a fancy dessert restaurant in East Manhattan \u2014 William Linich Jr. served celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Andy Warhol, a regular diner at the swanky establishment. It was inside this restaurant where Warhol and William Linich Jr. met, and it was after this first encounter that they became lovers. Billy Name was the pseudonym\u00a0Warhol gave Linich Jr. and from that point on\u00a0his artistic and professional careers were attached to the newly acquired nickname. Immediately after, Name became Warhol’s\u00a0right-hand man at The Factory.
\nUpon joining the Factory, Name became the chief photographer inside\u00a0the artistic hub. The budding artist had never considered a career in photography, that is, until Warhol handed him a camera and requested that he\u00a0record the many happenings inside the Factory.\u00a0Despite\u00a0its revolving door of\u00a0eclectic and photogenic personalities, something was missing.\u00a0Eager to add a few finishing touches, Name decorated Warhol’s base with\u00a0aluminium foil and silver paint to create a space age atmosphere. During his time at the Factory, Billy Name became wildly successful, with a portfolio of photographs\u00a0documenting Bob Dylan, the Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick and even Joe Dallesandro \u2014 the last living member of the Factory\u2019s quirky repertoire.
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![\"Billy](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/F-The-Velvet-Underground-667x600.jpg\")
Photo by Billy Name, 1967. From left: Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison, Nico, Maureen and John Cale pose for The Banana album cover. Image Courtesy of Reel Art Press (RAP)<\/p>\n