Vanessa Beecroft Portrays Kanye West for GQ Italia Art Issue
TODAY’S POET: Kanye West, photographed by artist Vanessa Beecroft, is the protagonist of one of the three covers of GQ Italia’s art issue, hitting newsstands Tuesday.
In addition to the multifaceted American artist, Beecroft also lensed the members of Sunday Service, a private, gospel-inspired, music performance group organized by West every Sunday on the hills of Calabasas, Calif.
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The images are published alongside an interview with Beecroft, who first collaborated with West in 2008 for the launch of his “808s & Heartbreak” album and who also staged one of her iconic performances for the unveiling of West’s Yeezy Season 3 fashion collection and “The Life of Pablo” album at Madison Square Garden in February 2016.
Interviewed about her vision of contemporary masculinity, Beecroft said “she thought about Kanye as a symbol of contemporary men, for different reasons. My idea of Kanye is of a poet, in the classic sense,” she said. “The sacredness of the poet, a man who has superpowers in terms of verbal and musical expression. This man can make mistakes, because he is vulnerable. These are the reasons why I choose him to symbolize the men of today.”
The new GQ art issue, which kicks off with a preface written by Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, also includes an interview with Fendi men’s and accessories creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi, who talked about design and a focus on the upcoming Venice Biennale art exhibition, officially opening on May 11.
Keanu Reeves, the newly minted Saint Laurent ambassador, and Italian signer Daniele Silvestri front the other two covers of GQ Italia, which is directed by recently appointed editor in chief Giovanni Audiffredi.
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