FROM WARHOL TO ASHLEY ALEXANDRA DUPRE

«Back in 1968, another American futurist, the wealthy conceptual artist Andy Warhol, suggested that in the future "everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes". What Warhol forgot to add was that in the internet age, this fame would not be accompanied with any pecuniary profit. Fame in the digital age is valueless; it can't be cashed at the bank.

Ten days ago, a 22-year-old aspiring musician called Ashley Alexandra Dupré outed herself as the prostitute who, for an hourly rate of $1,000, sold her services to the-then Governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer. For 15 minutes, Dupré became world famous. On the day of her confession, the young woman's MySpace page got 7 million hits, with 3 million people listening to her song, "What We Want". But this ephemeral notoriety hasn't translated into sales for the unsigned artist and it's doubtful that her 15 minutes of global fame earned the amateur musician any more cash than 15 minutes of professional work that she did for Eliot Spitzer.»

-The Independant
march 24 2008