Book launch: Trash by Jon Davies (Toronto)

Paul Morrissey's Trash (1970), which came out of Andy Warhol's Factory, brought superstars Joe Dallesandro and Holly Woodlawn a moment of shining glory. Morrissey's objective to show that a junkie was worth the same as a piece of trash is overshadowed by their performances. It is not that people are worth as little as a piece of trash but that trash becomes as valuable as people. Davies argues in the book that the funny and heartrending film is an allegory for all the stars whose way of fashioning themselves for Warhol and Morrissey brought them from the lowest depths to the highest heights – if only for a fleeting moment. Marc Siegel will host the book launch. (May 2)