Jeff Koons
Koons’ work combines historical references with images of common everyday products found in mass media representing topics such as sexuality and transcendence. In his Banality series he has represented popular culture including sculptures of Michael Jackson & Bubbles.
From 1994 to 2000, Koons produced his Celebration series of brightly coloured paintings and large scale sculptures, which combined readymade items with monumental works transforming everyday objects into abstract symbols of transcendence. He continued combining ready-mades with American pop culture with his large-scale inflatable figures.
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The Banality exhibition was largely made up of porcelain sculptures made by Italian and German workshops. This series from 1988, celebrates popular culture and the banal things that are unoriginal and boring. Koons used fine materials such as porcelain and crafts to create kitsch pieces like Winter Bears and Michael Jackson and Bubbles. Predicting that he would receive criticism from the artworld for these works, he placed adverts in art magazines mocking art loving readers and defending his position. These adverts contained images of himself in different roles that provoked people to question the type of art, usually seen in galleries. Michael Jackson and Bubbles is arguably the most famous piece of this series. Koons commented that “I was telling the bourgeois to embrace the thing that it likes, the things it responds to. For example, when you were a young child, and you went to your grandmother’s place, she had this little knickknack, that’s inside you, and that’s part of you. Embrace that.” ( Koons)
Michael Jackson and Bubbles
This is a larger-than-life-sized gilded sculpture made out of porcelain. It is based on a press photograph of the pair and is very close to the image. The sculpture shows Michael Jackson reclining on a flower bed together with his pet chimpanzee, Bubbles. They are wearing similar clothing in white and gold and appear as God-like, which could be seen to represent the culture of celebrity worship.
Koons denies that there are any hidden meanings behind his work, although the piece could be seen as a religious portrayal similar to the catholic saints figurines often sculptured from gold leaf and porcelain. In this sculpture, Jackson is portrayed like a Greek God whilst in real life, he has actually become immortalised to his fans through his music.
It has been criticised for the way that Jackson is made to look white and feminine has been one of Jeff Koons’ more controversial pieces.
Koons used skilled craftsmen to create the Winter Bears sculptures with its highly polished surface. The sculpture is based on a child’s miniature ornament which could be seen to be a comforting object. Although it is over-sized and measures 1245 x 1170 x 450 mm challenging conventional pre compactions
This sculpture suggests love. The toy bears are holding hands and waving hello and between them they are carrying a heart bag. They are wearing hats and clothes. They are in love, “how romantic” the viewer might think and hearts are coming out of their head and smiling. Between the feet of the figurines are strawberries, red roses and iced buns. It is made out of pottery, something to treasure forever. In the art gallery they are saying hello and welcome to the exhibition.
Koons has an attachment to “ the artificial, the lovable and the cute” and he has always been fascinated with light and how it reflects on surfaces. his work is inspired by the idea of reflection, and the viewer is reflected on the shiny surface of the sculpture becoming part of the art.
Each of Koons’ balloon dogs are made from precision engineered, mirror-polished, stainless steel and finished in either blue, magenta, orange, red, or yellow. They're made to look like balloon sculptures made at children’s birthday parties.
Although Koons claims that there is no hidden meaning to his work, he does refer to the balloon and the act of inhaling and exhaling as symbolising the human condition. He says that it “Has this interior energy... it’s having a dialogue with interior life and exterior life.” (Jackson. K).
Dogs are known as man’s best friend and as a balloon animal, this has connections with our early memories of childhood fun and play. Both as individual and collective memories. These balloon animals can create emotional memories that link back to an early familiar magical period in our lives.
Cake is an oil-painting on canvas and part of The Celebration series. The series includes paintings and sculptures that reference everyday life such as birthdays, and festive occasions and holidays. Cake is almost photo realistic and symbolises Koons’ interest in past experiences of childhood and reflects memories of an innocent happy early life. Each viewer will have their own personal memories of birthdays and cakes, and this will be reflected in each personal understanding and meaning taken from this image.
