Vanessa Beecroft facts for kids

Vanessa Beecroft (born April 25, 1969) is an Italian-born American modern performance artist. She also works with photography, video, sculpture, and painting. Many of her art pieces use professional models to create "living pictures" or scenes. She lives and works in Los Angeles, USA. Her early art explored personal themes, while her later work often focused on groups of people. Since 2008, she has worked with musician Kanye West on different projects.

Early Life and Art School

Vanessa Beecroft was born on April 25, 1969, in Genoa, Italy. She grew up in small towns near Lake Garda. Her parents were both teachers. Her mother, Maria Luisa, was Italian, and her father, Andrew Beecroft, was British.

When Vanessa was three, her parents divorced. Her mother raised her in an Italian village. Their home was very simple, without cars, a television, or a phone.

From 1988 to 1993, she studied art at the Brera Academy in Milan, Italy. Her very first art show, called VB01 (1993), was in a gallery in Milan. For this show, other female students from her art school wore Vanessa's clothes. They also shared her "Book of Food," which was a diary she kept about what she ate from 1985 to 1993.

In 1996, she moved to the United States. She settled in New York City after being invited by an art dealer named Jeffrey Deitch.

Exploring Art Through Performance

Vanessa Beecroft's art often explores ideas like self-control and how people relate to power. Her artwork is usually a performance or an installation that uses real people. She also takes photos and videos of these performances. Her work is part of many important museum collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

The VB Performances (1993–Today)

Many of Vanessa Beecroft's "VB" performances have been written about in books. These performances are named in order, like VB01, VB02, and so on.

During these performances, the models follow strict rules. They are told not to talk to the audience. The models are often dressed in uniforms, or very little clothing. They usually stand still for hours, sometimes in high heels, without moving or looking at the audience. Beecroft often chooses tall, thin, young models. In some later works, she used designer accessories or shoes as props.

• VB02, VB03, VB04, and VB08 happened in 1994. These shows featured live female models wearing bright red wigs and white underwear. The red wigs were a fun, exaggerated version of Beecroft's own hair color. VB08 (1994) took place at MoMA PS1 in New York.
• VB25 (1996) was performed at the Van Abbemuseum in the Netherlands. Seven young women who looked alike wore fake eyelashes and red nail polish. They were dressed in polo-neck sweaters, white underwear, tights, and high heels.
• VB35: Show (1998) happened at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Twenty women stood in a circle for two hours to match the museum's round shape. Some women wore bikinis designed by Tom Ford, while others were unclothed. This was a big event that gained international attention.
• VB45 (2004) took place at JFK Airport. Thirty-six young women stood in a pattern in a waiting area. They wore wigs and were painted black, with silver bands on their ankles.
• VB51 (2002) was her first performance that was filmed. It took place in Germany. It featured older models, including Beecroft's mother and other family members. Famous actresses Irm Hermann and Hanna Schygulla also took part.
• VB53 (2004) happened in Florence, Italy. Women were arranged on a mound of dirt, as if they were plants.
• VB55 (2005) featured one hundred women standing still in Berlin for three hours. Each woman was oiled from the waist up and wore only pantyhose.
• VB61, Still Death! Darfur Still Deaf? (2007) was a performance with a political message. It was shown at the 52nd Venice Biennale. About 30 Sudanese women lay face-down on a white canvas. This represented the terrible events in Darfur, Sudan.
• VB65 (March 2009) took place in Milan, Italy. It showed twenty African immigrant men, dressed in suits, eating chicken and bread without forks or knives. They were drinking water.
• VB66 (2010) was performed at a fish market in Naples, Italy. Fifty models stood on a platform among sculptures of body parts, all painted black. This art piece explored the connection between bodies, sculptures, and the ancient ruins of Pompeii nearby.
• VB67 (2010) and VB70: Marmi (2011) took place in Italy. Models were placed near marble sculpture statues. The stone was shown in different forms, like polished, rough, or in large blocks.

Other Creative Projects

In October 2005, Beecroft created a three-hour performance for the opening of the Louis Vuitton store in Paris. For this event, she placed models, both black and white, on shelves next to Louis Vuitton bags. This created a "human alphabet."

In 2018, Beecroft worked with Kim Kardashian. They created a series of photos of Kardashian that were shared online. These photos were for the launch of Kardashian's perfume, which came in a bottle shaped like her body.

Working with Kanye West

Since 2008, Vanessa Beecroft has worked with artist Kanye West. They started their collaboration with a music listening party in Los Angeles. In 2010, Beecroft became the creative director for West's "Runaway" music video.

She also designed the sets and choreography for West's Yeezus Tour (2013–2014). Beecroft worked on the music video for Kanye West's 2014 song "Only One." In 2014, she helped organize and build the wedding ceremony for Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.

In February 2015, West started his fashion line, Yeezy Season 1, with Adidas. Beecroft directed the fashion show presentation. She continued to work on Yeezy Season 2 (2015), Yeezy Season 3 (2016), and Yeezy Season 4 (2016).

In 2019, she worked with West on two opera performances called Nebuchadnezzar and Mary.

Personal Life

Vanessa Beecroft has been married twice. She was first married to Greg Durkin, and they had two sons together (born in 2001 and 2004). Later, she married photographer Federico Spadoni. Beecroft and Spadoni have one daughter and one son together (born in 2009 and 2012).

See also

• Blackface in contemporary art