Italian artist Francesco Vezzoli (you can read more about his work here, here, and here) will launch a faux perfume called Greed on February 6 at the Gagosian Gallery in Rome:
Gagosian Gallery is pleased to present GREED, A New Fragrance by Francesco Vezzoli, the artist's latest work that replicates the strategy and aesthetics of a commercial perfume launch.
Just as Marcel Duchamp created Belle Haleine: Eau de Voilette in 1921 using a Rigaud perfume bottle with an altered label, Francesco Vezzoli has created a signature perfume for the contemporary moment. Greed's label features Vezzoli in drag, photographed by Francesco Scavullo, where Duchamp appeared on his perfume bottle as Rrose Sélavy, photographed by Man Ray. The bottle of perfume is accompanied by a 60-second commercial for the perfume -- directed by Roman Polanski and starring Natalie Portman and Michelle Williams -- as well as a new series of needlework portraits of leading female figures in art history – including Tamara de Lempicka, Eva Hesse, Leonor Fini – as immortalized endorsements of Vezzoli's fragrance.
More reading: Duchamp's Belle Haleine, a recent interview with Roman Polanski (includes images from the commercial), watch a 30 second trailer for the commercial.
(quote via gagosian, found via nymag, artinfo, with many thanks to Natalie and Nancy for the links!)
I love it, actually… I'll need to look into this further and also read up on Belle Haleine. I love the portraits of Rrose Sélavy — I had forgotten about those! FYI Philadelphia Museum of Art has quite a large collection of Duchamp work if I remember correctly. The Polanski short looks like it will be fun too.
I love it, too, but I think he's about six months too late to be for “the present moment.” We're living with the fallout of greed, the mighty have already been brought low, and the rest of us need our pleasures, thank you very much.
I love it too — looking forward to the movie!
Hey, that's true, isn't it? But despite what Karl Lagerfeld says about “bling is dead”, it doesn't seem to have filtered through to fashion/beauty yet, does it? Certainly don't seem to be any fewer perfume launches this year.
Well, I'm assuming that–like gallery exhibits–a lot of things are planned at least a quarter, if not a year, in advance. The money's already been invested, the fabric ordered, blah, blah, blah. I think we'll begin to see things slow in the spring.
Or perhaps not. After all, designer perfume was originally a way to support slow couture sales… You can still buy a lot of perfume, even luxe perfume, for the price of a single pair of Laboutin shoes. I'm not even going to talk about handbags.
I want to see the needleworks! I hope they post them somewhere, seeing as how I'm not going to Roma anytime soon.
And yet another fragrance named after my X-husband. Would you tell someone you were wearing a fragrance named Greed? I hope it's really exceptional. Gendarme has a line named after the seven deadly sins. I gave into Lust, much like Jimmy Carter.
-Becca…a probable rube
Well, now I do feel like a rube. I missed the key word FAUX. Now I love the whole thing. It definately makes a needed statement.
But there really is a fragrance named Greed, so pretend I commented on that.
Where's the delete button on this thing?
All true!
LOL — we need a delete button! If you want me to delete the above, say so & I will
No, that's o.k. Robin. It stands as a reminder to read more carefully I should have 2+2'd it, because there were no notes listed and I didn't understand why no-one commented on the absurdity of the fragrance. And heck, it makes people laugh.
I wouldn't even be surprised if Greed was a real perfume name
Nor would I!
Hm, I wonder what notes they'll list? Filthy lucre accord, sheer gold voile, Ferrari leather. . .
Works for me…
There is! Gendarme made some scents based on the seven deadly sins. I bought Lust, it is unisex but the most masculine scent I've ever smelled. I don't know Greed's notes-don't really care. But as I said, I gave into Lust.
Good memory — I completely forgot about those!