After working as a commodities broker on Wall Street for quite some time, and before becoming the master of kitsch, Jeff Koons decided to devote himself to art with a resolutely contemporary approach. For him, art is the “preferred vehicle of merchandising”. In his perspective of creation, Jeff Koons mixes sculpture, engraving, and balloon sculpture; even better, Koons tries to make art for the greatest number possible. The proof is his use of pop culture iconography that’s recognizable the world over. For many, he is one of the rare few to be able to bring out the very essence of the avant-garde currents of last century. From Marcel Duchamp, Koons takes over ready-made art; with Claes Oldenburg, he took inspiration from the titanic dimensions given to daily objects, appropriating at the same time Arman’s didactic that is less human than it is concrete. And how could he have avoided borrowing the concept of Pop Art from Andy Warhol? Jeff Koon’s creation could be considered as a meeting point of these concepts, a creation that profiles an art that becomes the artisanship of art itself, and from popular imagery – all in all, art made to denounce consumer society and transcend its vulgarity.
Koons created his first works in New York in 1977. He already had a disposition towards flowers and inflatable plastic toys. In a Chelsea workshop, his pieces were created with the help of over 100 assistants. It’s indeed worth noting that the artist is not alone in the creation of his works; Koons is the instigator for ideas that are then executed by his collaborators. And the master of kitsch wasted no time in earning his stripes. His Balloon Dogs became the absolute reference for the closed club collectors all over the planet. And one of these gigantic sculptures, 3 meters tall, made of spheres that contain air from his inflatable vinyls, became the most expensive work of art in the world for a living artist. The most emblematic piece of 20th century art is the orange Balloon Dog – a color that makes reference to Andy Warhol’s famous Marilyns. Despite the apparent simplicity of his works, the Balloon Dogs take into account the smallest folds in the balloon itself. The production time for just one of these sculptures is spread out over close to three years. Beyond an amusing piece of pop art, the Balloon Dog is indubitably provocative. With it, banal becomes extraordinary, and the notion of good taste and art are questioned. Joyful, colorful, and as useless as a child’s toy, his immense installations haven’t ceased to divide critics and enrage artists. At the fore of it all, the Balloon Dog blurs the lines between art and pure entertainment.
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