L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 7 Woman + Food, Vanessa Beecroft Originally from Genoa, Italy, Vanessa Beecroft is an Italian artist living here in our backyard. Born to an English father and an Italian mother, she was raised in Italy by her mother, a feminist in her own right. She studied in both Genoa from 1983 to 1988, at the Civico Liceo Artistico N ico lò Barbarino and at the Accademia Linguistica Di Belle Arti, and in Milan from 1988 to 1993 at the Academia Di Belle Arti Di Brera, where she studied and focused on set design. Her work has been exhibited world- wide from Seoul to Los Angeles, and it is recognizable by her tableaux vivants, usually a group of 20-30 girls spaced out in per- fect geometric shapes. She made her debut in Los Angeles in 2001 at the famous Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills with the perfor- mance VB46, and photographs of her work can also be viewed at the L.A . M us eum O f Contemporary Art. S ince the beginning, Beecroft's art has centralized around food and the female fig- ure, while incorporating ele- ments of Italian classicism. Her firs t exhibition w as at the Galleria Inga-Pinn in Milan in 1993, it was entitled "Film" and built around her own diary Book of Food, in which she used to detail when and what she had eaten in almost ten years. The autobiographical inspiration was also strengthened by the pres- ence of a group of models , loosely resembling her and creat- ing a sort of obsessive self-por- trait. The following year she was invited to exhibit at the Andrea Rosen Gallery in New York. Throughout a career that has s panned s ome 20 years , V anes s a's w ork h as alw ays sparked such debate because people are often d ivided on w hether or not her w ork achieves what it sets out to do. Some have criticized her for using female models , whose bodies are thin and tall and only wearing high heels; while a com- pletely opposite point of view sees her women as empowered and capable of making decisions on their ow n, as the heels become their own pedestals. Interviewed by art critic and curator Massimiliano Gioni in 2001, she stated: "I'm interested in influencing the public opinion and culture, even if this means to a start a revolution." Having connections within the fashion world as well - one of her good friends is the editor of Vogue Italia -, Beecroft's live performances are often decked w ith fas hion labels s uch as Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana, and Manolo Blahnik. High profile brands and celebrities the likes of Louis V uitton and K anye West have collaborated with her to create powerful live images and performances that make the news not only in the art industry. In particular, Vanessa has staged some of West's runways and was art director of his musical short film Runway (2010). A s food remains V anes s a Beecroft's primary and most influential subject matter, having struggled with it since adoles- cence, she revisits its impact on the modern society through her art. An exhibition of photographs and videos will present two of ALLISON SOTO MORALES her works, VB52 and VB65, on the occas ion of Expo M ilan 2015. Both of them are linked to the main theme of this year's Expo "Feeding the planet, ener- gy for life," and will be on view until November 1, 2015. It will be part of a larger show entitled "Art & Foods," which provides a documentation on our relation- ship with food since the first world Expo in London in 1851, to be showcased at the Triennale Palace in the center of Milan, making it accessible to a large crowd. Not the typical Beecroft tableau vivant, VB52 and VB65 include women and men, respec- tively, seated at a long table with a feast before their eyes. In the composition of both works, we can s ee the influence of the Italian Renaissance, of Leonardo Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" reinterpreted by the artis t through a modern lens. In the 21st century we are judged for what we look like and what we eat: this is a recurring theme in Vanessa's art. The Italian Pavilion will also display one of her latest produc- tions, expressly created for Expo 2015, which is the sculpture entitled "Jennifer statuario." M olded from the body of Vanessa's sister and positioned upside down, it will welcome the visitors as juxtaposed to the "Hora" (1 st century AD) from Florence's Uffizi Museum and representing the overthrowing of Clas s icis m. A s the artis t explained, this work integrates in her performances since 1993 to present, destabilizing and chal- lenging once again the classical ideal of the human – and mainly female – body. Vanessa Beecroft Vanessa Beecroft - From point to Mongiello

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