Whitney Museum of American Art. October 19, 2009. By Bennett Marcus
Do you wish you had any artistic talents other than fashion? “I wish I could sing. A lot of celebrities that sing do fashion. I wish I could do the same.” —Donatella Versace
—Gerard Butler
Do you collect anything? “Dead things. I went to New Orleans and got a dead alligator head. I’m vegetarian, so it’s a bit hard. I draw the line at domestic pets. Stuffed cats and stuffed dogs are really not cool, unless they’re your own. Alligators and spiders, I don’t mind being dead. And I’m petrified of frogs, so I wouldn’t petrify a frog.” —Alexa Chung
—Jennifer Hudson
Do you have any other artistic talents other than photography? “When I was a kid, I sang backup for Barry Manilow. And I went on tour with him for about three months. I’ve never seen him again since. But sometimes I hum ‘Copacabana’ in the bath.” —Nigel Barker
—Shakira
—Lindsay Lohan
Can you paint? “Well, we have paint parties at my house and everyone comes over and paints on blank canvases and just does things for fun. My kind of art has always been film, that’s my primary interest, and everything else is just a hobby.” —Mischa Barton
—Jeff Koons
Do you collect anything? “I collected dolls for a really long time, but I lost most of them when I moved, so I’m starting to rebuild that collection. I have an obsession with them, I think they’re really cool.” —Taylor Momsen
—Lake Bell
—Candice Bergen
Do you have any artistic talents? “I think fashion is art by itself. I can sketch out a couple of dresses, so you can consider me an artist. But just for fun.” —Chanel Iman
—Ally Hilfiger, Tommy Hilfiger, and Dee Ocleppo
—Terry Richardson
What do you collect? “I used to collect elephants. I had maybe 60 of them. It’s funny, because we’re contemplating a move to Dumbo. I think maybe it’s fated.” —Mamie Gummer
—Glenn Ligon
—Nicole Trunfio
Do you have any hidden talents? “I have no talents. There are no fallback positions if I didn’t make it as a painter. I always said if I hadn’t gone to Yale, I would have gone to jail. And it’s pretty true.” —Chuck Close
—Lisa Edelstein
What do you think when you see Photoshopped models in advertisements? “I’m really bad at looking at all that. Basically, I think the ads are so bad today that I don’t really look at them.” —Olivier Zahm
—David Salle
—Amanda Hearst
Do you collect anything besides art? “I collect my visits to art museums around the world, because I love seeing them. I collect experiences.” —Leonard Lauder
—Evelyn Lauder
—Hana Soukupova
Is there anything you want to do other than acting? “Now I focus on my foundation. It’s called the One Foundation. I started it two years ago, and now we have a few million people’s support. We call the world a global family, where the brothers and sisters need to help the family.” —Jet Li
—Thelma Golden
Do you collect anything besides art? “I collect beach stones that have lines all the way around them. It has to have a line that goes all the way around the stone.” —Adam Weinberg, Director of the Whitney Museum of Art
—Peter Som
—Will Cotton
Do you collect anything besides art? “I can’t answer that question, because everyone would want me to say shoes. I actually collect furniture, eighteenth-century [and] early nineteenth-century furniture. I love the combination of the furniture and contemporary paintings.” —Mary Boone