Jean "Johnny" Pigozzi (born 1952) is a businessman, art collector, philanthropist, photographer and heir to the Simca automobile brand. He is based out of Paris, Antibes, London, New York, Geneva, and Panama.
I feel when you walk into somebody's apartment on Fifth Avenue or house in Malibu and you see a Basquiat, a Warhol, a Richard Prince, you say to yourself, '$700,000, $2. 2 million, $350,000. . . ' To me that is completely uninteresting. I'd rather go to a house where there's great art and I have no idea who the work is by.
Obviously if you are an accountant, a criminal lawyer, a president, or a senator, or if you work in a funeral parlor, you have to wear a tie, but more and more people are wearing very casual clothes.
I'd love to open a private museum in Paris, London, or New York, but I don't have the money. If I were Bill Gates or Paul Allen, the first thing I would do is build a museum.
In the last 20 years of collecting contemporary African art, I have been bombarded by incredible shapes and colors that I now want to translate into clothes.
Before I started LimoLand, I mainly bought my clothes in Harlem, where I found clothing my size in fun colors. I still like to go there and see the vibrancy and colors of the neighborhood. I am also very influenced by the colors of my contemporary African and Japanese art collections.
For me to be pompous is the most horrible thing in the world. It's like putting a wall around you. It screws you up. You'd better be willing to change your views or adapt and be modern.
I think 'tradition' is in the past - and how can someone really 'fear' a color? A man may prefer navy to turquoise, but a self assured man could wear any color and he knows that. It's a distinction of confidence.
I never wear very serious suits. I don't have to because I don't go to an office, so it's fine.
Every five years, I decide to learn something new.
Sense of humor is important in life, not just in clothing. How boring to live a life in beige.
When you take a picture of someone, never show it to them right away. If they don't like it, they may erase it.
As a kid I collected stamps, pebbles on the beach, anything. I liked to have at least 10 of something.
It would be much easier to just make black, brown and beige clothes. But I do not see the world in black and white and beige. I find colors incredibly important.
The moment when I press the shutter is fantastic, orgasmic, so charged with the hope that this will be a great, original, interesting, and perfectly composed photo. But like any other exciting thing in life, it is usually spoiled by some ridiculous, unpredictable, and annoying detail.
I have very long legs and I hate driving anything unless it's a boat or an ATV in the jungle. I like to sit in the back of a car, where I can look out the window, answer my emails on my iPad, or hold hands with a pretty girl.
If I take pictures at a party, I never get bored.
If I had done what I was programmed to do, I would now be sitting in a car factory looking at the sizes of wheels, or wondering how to get credit to start a new factory in Russia.
I don't like dirty. That's why I hate cigarettes. A little bit of alcohol is O. K. , but no drugs. And I like to sleep alone because I wake up, I walk around, I bring my computer with me to bed, I have a great time.
I'm always interested in finding the new trend. If you love pizza every day, after 22 years of eating pizza, you want to try sushi.
I like what I see now in China, but I think the Japanese are a step ahead into craziness and weirdness. I go to galleries there that are the size of a New York elevator, and every time I'm surprised by the amazing things I find. I really hope I'll be able to promote some of these artists, to show their work in the West.