Vanessa Beecroft (born April 25, 1969) is an Italian-born American

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

performance artist Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

; she also works with photography, video art, sculpture, and painting. Many of her works have made use of professional models, sometimes in large numbers and sometimes naked or nearly so, to stage ''

tableaux vivants A (; often shortened to ; plural: ), French for "living picture", is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrica ...

''.Francis Summers
Beecroft, Vanessa
''Grove Art Online''. ''Oxford Art Online''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. . She works in the United States, and is based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Her early work was focused on gender and appeared to be autobiographical; her later work is focused on race. Starting in 2008 she began working with

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

on collaborations and commercial projects.

Early life and education

Vanessa Beecroft was born April 25, 1969 in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

, Italy and raised in

Santa Margherita Ligure Santa Margherita Ligure ( lij, Santa Margaita) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa, in the area traditionally known as Tigullio. It has a port, used for b ...

and

Malcesine Malcesine is a ''comune'' (municipality) on the eastern shore of Lake Garda in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about northwest of Verona. Geography and divisions The comune of Malcesine ...

near

Lake Garda Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label=Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...

. Both of her parents were teachers; she was born to an Italian mother, Maria Luisa and a British father, Andrew Beecroft. After she was born, her family briefly moved to

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that contains a street and public park of the same name. It has no official boundaries but is roughly bounded by Kensington High Street to the south, Holland Road ...

, west

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Her parents divorced when she was three years old and she did not see her father or her younger brother again until she was 15 years old. Her mother raised Beecroft alone in a village in Italy in a strict

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

household with no cars, no television, and no phone. In childhood, she was hospitalized for overeating specific foods she thought would cleanse her system, and she struggled with an

eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Types of eating disorders include binge eating d ...

. From 1988 to 1993 she attended

Brera Academy The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera ("academy of fine arts of Brera"), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca di ...

in Milan, Italy. Her first art exhibition ''VB01'' (1993) was in a gallery in Milan and featured a performance with other female students from

wearing Beecroft's clothing, and sharing Beecroft's "Book of Food", a diary documenting her food consumption from 1985 and 1993. The "Book of Food" documented Beecroft's

bulimic Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eaten ...

eating habits and was referenced again in her later work, but it was separate from the performances. She moved to the United States in 1996, at the invitation of art dealer

Jeffrey Deitch Jeffrey Deitch (pronounced ''DIE-tch'';Mike Boehm (January 12, 2010)L.A.'s MOCA picks art dealer Jeffrey Deitch as director''Los Angeles Times''. born 1952) is an American art dealer and curator. He is best known for his gallery Deitch Projects ( ...

, settling in New York City.

Art

Some common themes in the work include self discipline (of the models),

voyeurism Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". A ...

, and power relationships. Beecroft's artwork is often performance or installation-based with live human figures, but she also documents the performances with photography and video; this work is in many public museum and art collections including the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

(MoMA),

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía The ''Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía'' ("Queen Sofía National Museum Art Centre"; MNCARS) is Spain's national museum of 20th-century art. The museum was officially inaugurated on September 10, 1992, and is named for Queen Sofía. It ...

Österreichische Galerie Belvedere The Österreichische Galerie Belvedere is a museum housed in the Belvedere palace, in Vienna, Austria. The Belvedere palaces were the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736). The ensemble was built in the early eighteenth centu ...

Van Abbemuseum The Van Abbemuseum () is a museum of modern and contemporary art in central Eindhoven, Netherlands, on the east bank of the Dommel River. Established in 1936, the museum is named after its founder, Henri van Abbe, who loved modern art and wanted ...

, amongst others.

VB performances (1993–present)

Many of the VB performances were documented in the

Dave Hickey David Hickey (December 5, 1938 – November 12, 2021) was an American art critic who wrote for many American publications including ''Rolling Stone'', ''ARTnews'', '' Art in America'', ''Artforum'', '' Harper's Magazine'', and '' Vanity Fair''. ...

book ''VB 08-36: Vanessa Beecroft Performances'' (2000), and in Emily L. Newman's book ''Female Body Image in Contemporary Art: Dieting, Eating Disorders, Self-Harm, and Fatness'' (2018). The performances were titled sequentially. Strict rules were imposed on the models' behavior during the performances; they were instructed not to engage with the audience. Models were uniformed, nude, or barely clothed and were required to stand for hours, often in tall high heels without movement or

eye contact Eye contact occurs when two people look at each other's eyes at the same time. In humans, eye contact is a form of nonverbal communication and can have a large influence on social behavior. Coined in the early to mid-1960s, the term came from t ...

. Beecroft always used tall, thin, young models who she referred to as "girls", regardless of their age. In later work, Beecroft would use designer accessories or shoes as props for the models. * ''VB02'', ''VB03'', ''VB04'', and ''VB08'' took place in 1994 and featured live girl models all dressed in bright red wigs (an exaggerated representation of Beecroft's own hair color) and white underwear. ''VB08'' (1994) performance took place at

MoMA PS1 MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution located in Court Square in the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York City. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution organizes the Sunday Sessions performance series, th ...

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

, New York, using live female models, pantyhose, and bright red wigs. * ''VB25'' (1996) performance took place at

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022, * ''VB35: Show'' (1998) took place at the

Guggenheim Museum The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Museums in this group include: Locations Americas * The Solomon R. Guggenhei ...

in New York; twenty women stood in the museum for two hours in a circular arrangement in order to mirror the architecture. Fifteen of the women wore

rhinestone A rhinestone, paste or diamante is a diamond simulant originally made from rock crystal but since the 19th century from crystal glass or polymers such as acrylic. Original Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river ...

-decorated bikinis designed by

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and directe ...

, and five of the women were nude. This was a larger event than some of her prior work and made international news. Casting was done by Jennifer Starr, and the production was done by Yvonne Force Villareal, and Doreen Remen. * ''VB45'' (2004) took place at Terminal 5 of the

John F. Kennedy Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New ...

with 36 young women standing in formation in the sunken waiting area, wearing only

Afro The afro is a hair type created by natural growth of kinky hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" ''Ebony'', February 1973. ...

wigs, black body paint, and silver shackles on their ankles. * ''VB51'' (2002) was her first filmed performance, it took place in Schloss Vinsebeck, Stenheim, Germany. It featured older models in their 60s, including Beecroft's mother, mother-in-law, stepsister, and the actresses

Irm Hermann Irmgard Hermann (4 October 194226 May 2020) was a German actress. She worked in film, television, and the stage, appearing in over 160 film and television productions. She was discovered, without formal training, by Rainer Werner Fassbinder who c ...

and

Hanna Schygulla Hanna Schygulla (; born 25 December 1943) is a German actress and chanson singer associated with the theater and film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She first worked for Fassbinder in 1965 and became an active participant in the New German ...

(both actresses from films by

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's main ...

, Beecroft's favorite director). *''VB53'' (2004) at the

Tepidarium The tepidarium was the warm (''tepidus'') bathroom of the Roman baths heated by a hypocaust or underfloor heating system. The speciality of a tepidarium is the pleasant feeling of constant radiant heat which directly affects the human body from t ...

in Giardino dell’Orticultura, Florence, Italy, women were staged in a mound of dirt, as if they were plants. * ''VB55'' (2005) featured one hundred women standing still in Berlin's

Neue Nationalgalerie The Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) at the Kulturforum is a museum for modern art in Berlin, with its main focus on the early 20th century. It is part of the National Gallery of the Berlin State Museums. The museum building and its ...

for three hours, each woman oiled from the waist up and wearing nothing but a pair of pantyhose. *''VB61, Still Death! Darfur Still Deaf?'' (2007), one of Beecroft's most politically-engaged performances, was presented the 52nd Venice Biennale. It involved "approximately 30 Sudanese women with their skin painted, lying face-down on a white canvas on the ground, simulating dead bodies piled on top of one another", representing the genocide in

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

, Sudan. * ''VB65'' (March 2009) performance at

Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea The Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea or PAC is a museum of contemporary art in Milan, Italy. It is on via Palestro, next to the Galleria d'Arte Moderna, and across from the Giardini Pubblici Indro Montanelli. History In 1947 the Municipality o ...

(PAC) in Milan, Italy, featured a "

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

" of twenty African immigrant men, dressed formally in suits (some without shoes), drinking water, eating chicken and brown bread without cutlery. *VB66 (2010) took place at (the fish market), Naples, Italy with fifty living models, staged on a platform amongst a group of cast body sculptures and body parts, all painted black. It highlighted the relationships among body, sculpture, and an

iconographical Iconology is a method of interpretation in cultural history and the history of the visual arts used by Aby Warburg, Erwin Panofsky and their followers that uncovers the cultural, social, and historical background of themes and subjects in the visu ...

reference to the nearby ruins of

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

. *''VB67'' (2010) performance took place at Studio Nicoli in Carrara, Italy, and again a similar reenactment in a year later, ''VB70:'' ''Marmi'' (2011) at Lia Rumma gallery in Milan. The models were staged near marble sculpture statues and the stone was in various states including polished, rough, and in blocks and slabs.

Other work

In October 2005, Beecroft staged a three-hour performance on the occasion of the opening of the Louis Vuitton store, "Espace Louis Vuitton" on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. For the same event, Beecroft placed models both black and white on the shelves next to Louis Vuitton bags in a "human alphabet". In 2007 the Louis Vuitton company apologized to Dutch graphic designer Anthon Beeke for mimicking his "Naked Ladies Alphabet" design without his consent. In 2018, Beecroft and Kim Kardashian collaborated on a series of nude photos of Kardashian that were displayed on social media for the release of Kardashian's perfume, which had a "Kardashian body-shaped bottle".

Collaborations with Kanye West

Since 2008, Beecroft has been collaborating on work with artist

. They began working together with a listening party at Ace Gallery, Los Angeles for West's music albums ''808s'' and ''Heartbreaks''. In 2010, Beecroft was named creative lead for the Runaway (Kanye West song), Runaway music video. On the Kanye West music tour, the The Yeezus Tour, Yeezus Tour (October 2013 – September 2014), Beecroft designed the sets and choreography. Beecroft worked on West's Spike Jonze directed music video for the 2014 song “Only One (Kanye West song), Only One”. In 2014, Beecroft assembled and built the wedding ceremony of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West . In February 2015, West embarked on a fashion design career with Adidas Yeezy, Yeezy Season 1, under the Adidas label and Beecroft directed the performance presentation. Beecroft went on to work on Yeezy Season 2 (September 2015), Yeezy Season 3 (February 2016), and Yeezy Season 4 (September 2016). Beecroft alleged she was a full-time employee for West until 2016, when her role changed and she became a part-time contractor. In 2019, she collaborated with West on two opera-based performances, ''Nebuchadnezzar'' and ''Mary''.

Controversies

Her performance work about gender was often critiqued for being a "post-feminist statement about fashion or pandering to a corrupted way of seeing". Photographer Collier Schorr noted, "Beecroft is interested in the aesthetics of how women look when they are looked at, and her body-conscious projects encourage alienation between model, artist, and audience." Beecroft's work with live female nude models in performances often uses a specific type of model, one with an Westernized "idealization" of the female body, all of the models appearing uniformly thin, tall, and young. These choices have been criticized as harmful, distorted, and conforming to gender stereotypes. Beecroft has been quoted in an interview in 2016, “I have divided my personality. There is Vanessa Beecroft as a European white female, and then there is Vanessa Beecroft as Kanye, an African-American male.” Her later work deals with race, and she has made a series of racially insensitive remarks in interviews. Beecroft’s failed attempt to adopt Sudanese twins was the topic of the documentary ''The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins'' (2008) by Pietra Brettkelly, which was included in the Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival's World Cinema Documentary Competition. The film presents Beecroft as a "hypocritically self-aware, colossally colonial postmodern, pomo narcissist" and chronicles her "damaging quotes and appalling behavior" as she attempts to adopt the orphans for use in an art exhibit.

Personal life

Vanessa Beecroft was previously married to Marketing, marketer Greg Durkin. They lived in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, Cold Spring Harbor, New York together for many years. The marriage ended in divorce. Durkin and Beecroft had two sons together (born in 2001 and 2004). She was then married to photographer Federico Spadoni. Beecroft and Spadoni have one daughter and one son together (born 2009 and 2012).

Bibliography

Biography

Exhibition catalogues

A select list of exhibition catalogues by Beecroft, listed in ascending order by publication year. * * (English, French, Italian). * * * * *

References

External links

Slideshow: The Very Best of Vanessa Beecroft
(May 2016) in The New York Times {{DEFAULTSORT:Beecroft, Vanessa Living people 1969 births 20th-century Italian women artists 20th-century women photographers 21st-century Italian women artists 21st-century women photographers Italian conceptual artists Women conceptual artists Italian performance artists Artists from Genoa Italian photographers Italian women photographers Italian multimedia artists Postmodern artists Italian contemporary artists Italian women painters Brera Academy alumni Nude photography