The Model as Muse/Becoming Art: My Interview with Christy Turlington

Christy photographed by Steven Klein for a 2009 Vogue feature

I met Christy Turlington about a year and a half ago and ever since that moment I have been impressed by her inner and outer beauty, her generosity and her intelligence. We’ve chatted about everything from childbirth and preschools in NYC to infectious diseases in Africa and I must say, Christy is not only gorgeous and iconic but so authentic and generous! This girl really needs no introduction. She was and still is one of the greatest supermodels EVER!

Captured by the genius of Bruce Weber's lens for the Eternity ad campaign in 1990

I have always thought of Christy as an influential figure both in the fashion and the art world. She’s so very relevant that it doesn’t matter if we are staring at a Calvin Klein’s Eternity ad (the first of which was shot in 1989) or the latest Louis Vuitton campaign (launched in the fall of 2010). Her grace is absolutely timeless. A couple of weeks ago, I went to Phillips de Pury for a private viewing of the pieces offered in the Photographs auction and I saw a beautiful portrait of Christy by Albert Watson taken in New York City in 1990. The image not only struck me as sensuous and mysterious, but also reminded me how much of an icon Christy is and how many artists and photographers have been inspired by her extraordinary features.

One of my favorite Vogue covers of all time. Iconic picture taken by Steven Klein in 2002

In Los Angeles, a collaboration with Kurt Markus.  An amazing series of self-portraits

Christy wearing Valentino shot by the master, Herb Ritts



Some of the mannequins created by Ralph Pucci and modeled after Christy

Since I have been exploring the intersection of fashion and art and the whole idea of the model as a muse I thought about asking Christy a few questions about art and about “becoming” art. Here is our interview:

A lot of the images where you have posed for big-ticket fashion photographers end up in auction houses, museums and private collections. You have become art. How does that feel to you?

Well, as a collector of photography myself it feels both strange and good. I don’t think of myself generally as an object of art but I have on occasion felt that I have contributed to images that may be seen as works of art.

I love to think about the possibility of expanding anyone’s work product into different realms and directions. As a model, your photographs have moved beyond fashion. Which has been your most fulfilling collaboration with a photographer and why?

I once collaborated with Kurt Markus on a series for British Vogue that were based on the idea of a book of self portraits called “I, Camera.” Basically, Kurt would let me choose the location for his large format camera that he would then set up in various rooms of the Chateau Marmot Hotel in Los Angeles. Once the camera was in place and set, he would leave the room or turn away and I would pose and then press the cable release. It was such a nice way to work. It was really just the two of us and we only took a few frames for each photograph. I wonder if I have any of them...

In 1993 Ralph Pucci commissioned mannequins based on your face for the Met’s Costume Institute. The same year the Met said that you represented “The Face of the 20th Century”. Wow! I can imagine how big that feels. You are not only making art but making history! Why don’t you tell me a little bit about how did all that happen? It’s a major milestone in your career and life, I assume.

I was obviously quite flattered to become a face associated with the Met’s Fashion Institute back in 1993 (I can’t believe it was that long ago!) I remember hearing from Harold Koda, the curator of the exhibition, and then squeezing in a series of sittings with the sculptor over the course of several weeks before Pucci completed the mannequins. A little known fact from the exhibit is that they made versions of several mannequins from my face, including faces of men and children.

Marc Jacobs and Harold Koda did an extraordinary job with the exhibition “The Model as Muse”. You were an important part of it. What did you like best about that show, particularly considering that it was put together in 2009? Basically you were looking at it with the experience of someone with more than 25 years of modeling under your belt…

I never actually saw the “Model as Muse” exhibition but I do have a book as a memento. I was out of the country at the time of the gala and then thought it would be weird to be there as a spectator having participated in such an intimate way. That it has been twenty five years that I have been contributing to the fashion industry as a model is rather mind blowing in and of itself.

What do you miss the most about the late 80s and 90s in terms of art and artists? If you could make a reference to the art world or an anecdote that you remember from those days…

I remember my early days in New York when Andy Warhol and Keith Haring were alive and out all the time. I was lucky to have met them along with Francesco Clemente, Julian Schnabel and Jeff Koons as a teenager. It was a magical time to grow up in this city.

I’m sure you have an art collection, when did you start it and how did you develop it?

I started to collect photography years ago and I focused on collecting nudes and flower prints. The staples of my photography collection are two stunning Irving Penn Tulip prints and a nude of an African woman reclining. I also have another favorite, a Sugimoto print taken inside the Castro Theatre in San Francisco and my husband gave me two gorgeous Thomas Struth photos for my birthday a few years ago of the neighborhood we live in but taken around the time I first moved to New York City. I have a great Robert Frank of some boys in drag taken in the city around the same time as well...

Quick Q&A:

Who’s your favorite artist(s)? Rothko, Cy Twombly, Modigliani

What’s your favorite wine? Quintessa

What designer(s) are you wearing lately? Isabel Marant

Best museum in the world? The Tate Modern

Most avant-garde city in terms of design? Tokyo

There’s no question why Christy has had the phenomenal career and the very fulfilling life that she enjoys. Being a muse is not only about being beautiful, but also about having the charisma and the grace to inspire others as well as the ability to engage those around you. Christy has it all.

The Mondavis and the history of winemaking in Napa Valley

Family portrait: Cesare and Rosa Mondavi with their four kids

Last week, I had the great opportunity to be part of an historic event in the wine world: the reunion of the famous Mondavi family. It took place in different Morton’s Steakhouses—inlcuding San Francisco, Las Vegas, Honolulu and NYC. I’m not usually a fan of steak restaurants, but red wine really goes well with meat and the Morton’s people really put together a lovely evening for us. Why was this reunion such an amazing fete? Because the Mondavis, as the good passionate Italians they are, have been fighting for ages and after many disputes, disagreements and lawsuits, the families of Robert (who died in 2008) and Peter (who is currently 95) reunited last week for the first time in literally decades.

Robert Mondavi was for many years the most important name in the Napa Valley

The Mondavi representative in New York was the sweet and nice Carissa Mondavi, one of Robert’s granddaughters, and a partner of Continuum wines. Continuum is a winery that was started in 2005 by Robert himself and two of his children: Timothy and Marcia. Carissa lives and breathes wine and she’s really proud of the Mondavi name and of having been able to expand the business that the family started almost seventy years ago.

The entrance to the Charles Krug vineyard that the Mondavis first bought in 1943

The Mondavis are the royalty of American wine. Robert Mondavi was really instrumental in developing the wines of the Napa Valley as we know them today. He was obsessed with the idea that Napa wines could be as good as their European counterparts. And as we know, he did accomplish his objective and much more.

The Mondavis who opened Continuum: Robert Mondavi sitting on the front with his children Marcia and Tim. On the back are Margrit Mondavi (Robert's wife) and Carissa Mondavi (Tim's daughter)

It all started back in the first decade of the 20th century, when Cesare and Rosa Mondavi arrived from Italy and eventually settled in California. They started trading grapes, and after Prohibition, entered the wine business. Rosa and Cesare had four children but it was the two boys, Robert and Peter, who became enthralled by the fascinating world of winemaking. In 1943, Robert and Peter convinced their father to buy Charles Krug Winery in the Napa Valley and the three men ran the business. Cesare died in 1959 and in 1960, after many disagreements, Robert was exiled from Charles Krug leaving Rosa and Peter in charge.

The entrance of the Robert Mondavi Winery, today owned by Constellation Brands

But Robert, as ambitious as he was, had already greater plans, and in 1966, helped by his three children, opened the Robert Mondavi Winery. This was really one of the most important milestones for the California wine business. Robert and his brood grew the winery, forged alliances and took winemaking in the United States to the next level.

The label of Continuum, proudly designed by Chiara Mondavi

After many, many years of great success and expansion, and again, not without drama and confusion, the Robert Mondavi Winery was sold to Constellation Brands in 2004. Robert was 90 years old. So what’s the Mondavi legacy today? Michael, the elder son of Robert, owns Folio Wine Partners. His wife Isabel and his children work with him too. Timothy and Marcia, also Robert’s children, own Continuum Wines. Peter Mondavi still owns the Charles Krug winery and his children Marc and Peter Jr. run the business with him.

The Barrel Room of Folio Winemakers' Studio, simply fabulous!

The true legacy of the Mondavis, particularly of Robert, is how he pushed and inspired a new generation of American winemakers to be extraordinary and to elevate Napa Valley to be one of the finest wine regions in the world. The Mondavis truly are the ultimate inspiration and the embodiment of the American dream. Cheers to them!

Opening Night at the MoMA: Four Fall Shows

Image of a fun night: art lovers hanging out at the MoMA sipping a few cocktails!

One of the perks of being in the art world is to be involved with museums, and to get to participate in so many different events and activities organized by the curators, the trustees, the committees. My favorite museum in New York is the MoMA. I am happy to be involved in the museum and support its show and exhibitions any way I can. The past week, I attended the opening night and cocktail party for four shows that will be running throughout the fall and part of the winter: Abstract Expressionist New York, New Photography 2010, Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen and Small Scale, Big Change: New Architectures of Social Engagement.

Willem De Kooning said "Flesh is the reason oil paint was invented".  Here is his famous "Woman, I"

The Museum was packed with art lovers –and artists (including the great Amy Sillman)- excited to partake of such great night. The DJ was fantastic and even the garden was booming despite an earlier rain that had threatened the fun of being outside during the last warm days in the city.

Another great Abstract Expressionist work, "Cathedral" by Hans Hoffman

After a few cocktails, I worked my way from the fourth floor down. My favorite show by far was Abstract Expressionist New York. This movement put New York in the center of the art world back in the 1950s and replaced Paris as the artistic and creative capital of the world. And gave a specific voice to artists such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning and Robert Motherwell, in an era focused on the tragedies and scarcity of the Great Depression and the World War II. Fascinating.

One of my favorite pieces of the exhibit: Jackson Pollock's "Stenographic Figure"

The show was entirely put together using pieces from the extensive MoMA collection-- it was beautifully curated and impressive all around. The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis room deserves a special mention—so many beautiful Rothkos were masterfully assembled in there. Amazing scene.

One of the pieces exhibited in Abstract Expressionist New York- Mark Rothko's #10, 1950

Robert  Motherwell's "Western Air"

The second exhibition I visited was New Photography 2010, featuring the works of four new artists: Roe Ethridge, Elad Lassry, Alex Prager and Amanda Ross-Ho. After this show neither their lives nor the price of their prints will remain the same! The four artists displayed very different techniques, each with its own specific flavor. Prager, my favorite, photographs women in settings that look part Pulp Fiction, part retro-glam. I loved the brightness and visual stimulus provided by the vibrant colors and neatness of his prints, not to mention the “dramedy” feel of it all. I'll be mentioning his name to my clients a lot.

Alex Prager's "Susie and Friends". Simply fabulous! 

Amanda Ross-Hu's "Expose for the Shadows Develop for the Highlights"

The third exhibition “Small Scale, Big Change: New Architectures of Social Engagement” shows eleven architectural projects on five continents that respond to localized needs in underserved communities. Very interesting developments that helped solve the difficult problems of overpopulated communities in places where there was a lack of economic resources (but obviously not a lack of great architects and bright minds!). Among the projects that caught my attention were the ones that relieved dangerous or very cumbersome situations in the “favelas” of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the Shanty Towns of Port Elizabeth in South Africa and the Metro Cable up the hills of the “barrios” in Caracas, Venezuela.

Noero Wolff Architects. Red Location Museum Of Struggle, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. 1998–2005. Photo credit: Iwan Baan

The last show: Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen, presented a cool assembly of artifacts and objects found in the post-war kitchen of the 20th Century including a complete example of the iconic “Frankfurt Kitchen,” designed in 1926–27 by the architect Grete Schütte-Lihotzky. There was also artwork presenting food and culinary instruments like Tom Wesselman’s famous Still Life #30 or a grouping of World War II propaganda posters for the British War Office/Ministry of Food. Brilliant.

Wesselman's iconic "Stil Life #30"

Artifacts from the modern kitchen, artfully displayed.

 I love the fall in New York City. Not just the cool weather and the beautiful warm tones of the foliage, but also nights like this one, only a single example of the enormous possibilities that the city offers to all of us, New Yorkers, who love art, culture and cocktails!