So maybe it's all in a name.
Word came yesterday that the partner of Yves Saint Laurent has pulled four portraits done by Andy Warhol that were set to appear in "The Great World of Andy Warhol" at the Grand Palais in Paris. The show is set to open in two days.
Pierre Bergé requested that the paintings be removed after he discovered the portraits of Saint Laurent would be included in a section of the exhibit titled "Glamour" (which includes images of other designers like Giorgio Armani, Sonia Rykiel, and Hélène Rochas). Instead, he preferred that the portraits appear in the "Artists" section, next to Warhol's renderings of Man Ray and Keith Haring.
Certainly Saint Laurent was one of the most important designers of the 21st century, but his not being billed as an "artist" doesn't deflect from that status. It seems that after Nicolas Sarkozy attended Saint Laurent's funeral last year, that France indeed saw the designer as a visionary. But Berge remains resolute.
He told Agence France-Presse, "I don't deny he was a designer, that was how he described himself, but I think he was more than that."
The show, which runs until July, includes Warhol's portraits of Brigitte Bardot, Jane Fonda, Mick Jagger, Lee Radziwill, and Princess Grace of Monaco among 245 others. Because Warhol was interested in all forms of celebrity, Sylvester Stallone is also included in the show.
source: www.hollywoodlife.net
