“Baby” Jane Holzer is an actress, film producer, and art collector, most noted for her early work with Andy Warhol in the 1960s as the first recognized Warhol superstar. Catapulted to fame after being photographed for Vogue in 1963 by acclaimed British photographer David Bailey, Holzer broke into the rapidly evolving American art industry, and was labeled “Girl of the Year” in Tom Wolfe’s collected book of essays titled The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby (1965).
After gaining mesmerized attention from Andy Warhol, Holzer appeared in a number of his films including Soap Opera (1964), Couch (1964), Batman Dracula (1964), and Camp (1965), and later co-produced works such as Hector Babenco’s Kiss the Spider Woman (1985) and Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers (2012). Jane Holzer became the posterchild for post-war American society, bringing a newness to the art world that represented the significant changes of the American political front, civil rights movement and cultural revolution of the time.
Through partnership between the Department of Art, Film and Visual Studies, Dance and Media, and the Harvard Film Archive, courtesy of a gift generously pledged by Rusty Holzer, Jane Holzer’s son, fellowships have been awarded to a number of contemporary directors who have displayed innovative and significant abilities in filmmaking. They are presented with the Baby Jane Holzer Visiting Artist in Film award.
In conjunction with this award, film series surrounding the works of these directors have been shared with the public through inclusive retrospective programs screened at the Harvard Film Archive. Recipients are also granted an extended visit to Harvard University to present and discuss their work with the community, as well as undergraduate and graduate students in filmmaking and related subjects. – Alexandra Vasile
About the Collection
In addition to visits to the HFA Cinematheque, the Baby Jane Holzer Fellowship allots funding to acquire select works from each filmmaker to add to the HFA's collections. Since 2018, this has included digital files, DCPs, and film prints from Valeska Grisebach, Dominga Sotomayor, and Alex Ross Perry. Materials are available for research and in some cases loans to outside institutions.
Catalog records for these titles are forthcoming, but a complete list can be obtained by contacting the HFA Collections Archivist.
