Andy Warhol 15 Minutes

Black and white photograph of Andy Warhol surrounded by white text on a black background

This button is a reference to pop artist Andy Warhol’s iconic “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” quote, but a closer look makes this a peculiar item. There is heavy speculation that Warhol never actually said the line that has now become so famous, and that it has been mistakenly attributed to him. But even if he did, this button appears to be poking fun at the quote and at Warhol himself. Is it a mean-spirited joke created after the artist’s untimely death? Or is it an indictment of the viewer of the button, implying that our own fame has come and gone without our having even noticed it? Hard to say, but Warhol’s take on it probably would have been quote-worthy.