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subscribe to style file blog via RSSLegends On The Walls And In The Halls AT LACMA
October 22, 2008 1:16 pm
Much as you’d expect, the Vanity Fair “Portraits” exhibit at LACMA is thick with legends—Katharine Hepburn, Josephine Baker, Madonna, and Princess Di are just a few of the famous subjects lensed for the magazine, and the shots of them included in the show are among its most familiar. But the legends everyone was keeping an eye on at last night’s opening party weren’t stuck in any frames. No, that was in fact Joan Collins, younger beau in tow, working her way down the LACMA carpet, followed shortly thereafter by a shockingly petite Farrah Fawcett. These people are real? Very real, according to Mario Testino. “You know, I spend so much time retouching,” explained Testino, “I become very intimate with my subjects. I know all their flaws. I know what their toes look like. Sometimes,” he added, “when I look at my photos, I can only see the parts I retouched. It’s strange.” Naturally, Testino cited his portraits of Princess Diana as his favorite among his pieces in the exhibit, and likewise naturally, he wasn’t about to divulge any information about Di’s toes. The Office star Rainn Wilson, on the other hand, was more forthcoming. Asked if he had a favorite portrait of himself, Wilson explained that a while back, he’d done a series of photos for Entertainment Weekly where he’d dressed as various legendary television stars. Joan Collins? “No,” Wilson said. “But I did dress up as Xena, the warrior princess, with sword and breastplate and everything. And that is probably my favorite photo of myself.” But, he went on to note, there was one problem. “Now I kind of wish that whole series had been for Vanity Fair,” added Wilson. “Because that way, I’d have my freaking picture in this show!”
tags: Joan Collins, LACMA, Rainn Wilson, Vanity Fair
