BUT IS IT ART?
Jeff Koons
Hulk (Friends)
polychromed bronze
71 1/4 x 48 1/2 x 26 in. (181 x 123.2 x 66 cm.)
Executed in 2004-2012, this work is number 1 from an edition of 3 plus 1 artist’s proof.
“They’re there as protectors… but at the same time they can become very, very violent… . The Hulks are like that—they’re really high-testosterone symbols” – Jeff Koons
Appearance Stripped Bare
Desire and the Object in the Work of Marcel Duchamp and Jeff Koons, Even
Edited by Massimiliano Gioni
The first book to explore two of the biggest names in modern and contemporary art side by side, Marcel Duchamp and Jeff Koons.
In the first half of the 20th century, Marcel Duchamp redefined what we consider art and what it means to be an artist.
Many of his ideas return, transformed, in the work of Jeff Koons, born when Duchamp was 68 years old and whose own career lit up the art world of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
This is the first book to explore the affinities between these two highly influential artists, whose creative universes similarly question the function of objects and the allure of commodities.
International art historians, writers, and curators contribute their expertise on topics such as each artist’s persona, as well as reflecting on the influence of technology and sexuality on their work.
The publication of this intriguing book coincides with an exhibition at the Museo Jumex in Mexico City, opening in May 2019.
Format: Hardback
Size: 290 x 214 mm (11 3/8 x 8 3/8 in)
Pages: 264 pp
Illustrations: 100 illustrations
ISBN: 9780714878690
Jeff Koons (b. 1955)
Triple Elvis
signed and dated ‘Jeff Koons ’09’ (on the overlap)
oil on canvas
102 x 138 in. (259.1 x 350.5 cm.)
Painted in 2009.
© Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons
Michael Jackson and Bubbles, 1988
porcelain
42 x 70 1/2 x 32 1/2 in. (106.68 x 179.07 x 82.55 cm)
Jeff Koons
Puppy Vase, 1998
Jeff Koons plays with ideas of taste, pleasure, celebrity, and commerce. “I believe in advertisement and media completely,” he says. “My art and my personal life are based in it.” Working with seductive commercial materials (such as the high chromium stainless steel of his “Balloon Dog” sculptures or his vinyl “Inflatables”), shifts of scale, and an elaborate studio system involving many technicians, Koons turns banal objects into high art icons. His paintings and sculptures borrow widely from art-historical techniques and styles; although often seen as ironic or tongue-in-cheek, Koons insists his practice is earnest and optimistic. “I’ve always loved Surrealism and Dada and Pop, so I just follow my interests and focus on them,” he says. “When you do that, things become very metaphysical.” The “Banality” series that brought him fame in the 1980s included pseudo-Baroque sculptures of subjects like Michael Jackson with his pet ape, while his monumental topiaries, like the floral Puppy (1992), reference 17th-century French garden design.
Jeff Koons
Balloon Dog (Magenta), 1994-2000
High chromium stainless steel with transparent color coating
121 x 143 x 45 inches (307.3 x 363.2 x 114.3 cm)
5 unique versions (blue, magenta, orange, red, yellow)
Installation view of the 2008 solo exhibition Jeff Koons: Versailles at Château de Versailles, France
David Zwirner Gallery, New York