On Friday, November 22, 2019, the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech will host a conference that focuses on intersections between fashion legend Yves Saint Laurent and Picasso. According to the President of the Picasso-Paris National Museum Laurent le Bon, nothing seems similar about them at first glance, yet there are many similarities. “The world of art is getting closer to fashion and vice versa,” said Laurent. The conference will explore the fascinating lives of both artists and their experiences across the African continent.
Yves Saint Laurent was born in Oran, Algeria to French parents. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was considered a leading Parisian, fashion jet setter. Laurent was seen in clubs in the world’s most popular cities and spent time in his Marrakech villa. In October 2017, his business partner and lifelong partner Pierre Berge inaugurated the Marrakech, Yves Saint Laurent Museum in the designer’s memory. “It was natural to build a museum dedicated to the work of Yves Saint Laurent in Morocco,” said Berge. Everything from Laurent’s color and forms of his clothing owes so much to the country.”
Picasso was born in Málaga, the Andalusian region of Spain. He also spent time discovering Africa. During the early 20th century he explored African tribes, primitive idols, statues, and new forms. The result was his African Period (1906 to 1909). These three years are marked by Picasso’s African sculptures, traditional African masks, Egyptian art, and Iberian sculpture and schematic art.
The event is organized by the Friends of the Majorelle Garden Foundation, part of the Conversations Around Art.