Francesco Vezzoli, an Italian artist whose varieties of media are almost as numerous as his museum appearances, has struck gold (or perhaps gold glitter) with Divas, a series of subversive laserprints centered on the complexity and cultural impact of 20th century cinema. Divas, on display until June 2nd at MAM Shanghai, is curated by Nancy Spector and Shai Baitel, and is the first work in Vezzoli’s three-decade career to be shown in China.

In Divas, Vezzoli takes black-and-white photos of film stars and interrupts–one could say defaces–them with bold, sparkly markings, most often oversized teardrops dripping directly from actors’ irises; we also see a woman with expensive-looking earrings dangling from her eyes, and a stern man with an artificial nosebleed. These striking alterations are nonetheless adherent to the glitz and glam of old Hollywood, driving further viewer reflection about how our biases continue to shape us even after we’ve had them disproven. Even when we recognize that our icons are human, our minds continue to elevate them above ourselves. Of course movie stars cry, and of course those tears are composed of water and salt rather than glitter; still, if anyone could cry glitter, wouldn’t it be them?

Divas is a work of introspection as well as extrospection, with Vezzoli pondering and paying homage to influences that have shaped his creative journey. A strong emphasis is placed on actors from his native Italy, and the accompanying artist photo is black-and-white with dramatic lighting; however, it features no glittering tears or other markings. Vezzoli does not seek to equate himself with his other subjects; to do so would be to erase the temporal and cultural divide that serves as the focal lens of Divas.

This personal element highlights an unexpected revelation about the concept of celebrity: it begins to dissolve when looked at on the small scale, the scale at which we all live. Idolization of a celebrity is a trait shared mostly with strangers, and there is little value in having something in common with a stranger you will never meet. Even so, influencing millions of people’s individually unique worldviews is a great accomplishment, and one that should come with recognition of one’s entire self, not merely the outward illusions that are the foundation of cinema, both on and off the screen. Vezzoli, while too far removed from his subjects to depict their whole stories, captures the inadequacy of these illusions in Divas.

Below, Vezzoli elborates on his exhibition and presenting his works in Shanghai.

What inspired this exhibition? How did its concept evolve from initial ideation to the final production?

This exhibition is a long journey throughout my earliest works. Together with the curator we wanted to put together, for the first time, all the portraits of the actresses, whose images have influenced my childhood and adolescence.

How have the actors shown in Divas influenced your own artistic approach?

I wouldn’t say that the actors or the actresses have influenced my approach, I think they have influenced my life. I studied their movies, I studied their public lives, their private lives, and all this information got stuck with my search for a more authentic emotional path and identity.

How do you think the cultural role and image of the movie star has changed (or stayed the same?) since the actors shown in Divas were in their prime?

A few days ago, on TikTok, I came across an old video of Joan Crawford where she explains why the studios are no longer capable of creating through "icons" or through "stars," as she says in their words.

The interview dates to the late 60s. She blames the studios for no longer training or educating the actors to the tough life of the true diva. Evidently back in the day, the construction of a figure that could have an impact on public imagination and that could be the fruit of public consumption was a collective job that involved publicists, directors, screenwriters, studio heads, and journalists. It was the most perfect fiction, and nevertheless it was perceived as the most diabolically perfect form of truth.

I guess now we live in a diametrically opposite moment. The nature of social media celebrity gives us a very badly written fiction that comes across as a not believable, or [not] inspiring truth. I presume that’s why in these days, stars last for much shorter periods of time.

‍

How does it feel to present your work in Shanghai for the first time? What are you most excited for viewers to take away, and how do you feel this show exhibits your own legacy?

It has been a very exciting experience to exhibit my work for the first time in China. To have the honor and privilege to penetrate such a completely different type of audience was extremely stimulating, to say the least.

My work is a very stratified, excessive and endless layering of information and quotations about the history of European and Hollywood cinema. Most of the references in my early works could have been completely lost to the Chinese audience. Together with the curator we were stimulated to re-edit my work in a new way, and this forced me to look at my artistic identity in a completely different way.

I don’t think I would’ve done this if I hadn’t been able to so to say intellectually forced to “cut to the chase” my art.

Do you consider yourself a diva in any sense?

I’m not a diva because I have worked with so many true, tremendous divas that I wouldn’t dare to compete with their grandiosity.

Photographed by Nicolas Santa Maria Cea