Following Salvador Dali in terms of provocativeness and financial prosperity, Jeff Koons, the pioneer of appropriation, erases the line between art and banality. His vacuum cleaners may be seen as an homage to the ready-mades of Marcel Duchamp, while the most famous pieces - balloon animals made of steel - trick our perception in the manner of Tattooed Pigs, Gothic Trucks, and Sex-Rays of Wim Delvoye. Crossing the borders between art and other spheres, Koons also blends art and pornography. The result of this blending was shown in his Made in Heaven exposition, which consisted of pornographic shots and sculptures featuring himself and his wife, porn actress Cicciolina.
Fig. 1. Jeff Koons (gq.com)
Fig. 2. The cover of Artpop made by Koons, 2013 (livejournal.com)
Fig. 3. Beach House, oil on canvas 102 x 138 inches, 2003, Popeye series (jeffkoons.com)
Fig. 4. Hot Dog, Easyfan-Ethereal series, oil on canvas, 108 x 84 inches, 2002 (jeffkoons.com)
Fig. 5. Gazing Ball (Ariadne), plaster and glass, 44 3/8 x 93 7/8 x 36 5/8 inches, 2013 (twitter.com)
Fig. 6. Gazing Ball (Farnese Hercules), plaster and glass, 128 1/2 x 67 x 48 5/8 inches, 2013 (twitter.com)
Fig. 7. Dolphin, mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent color coating, 20 1/8 x 78 3/8 x 37 1/2 inches, 2007 (twitter.com)
Fig. 8. Caterpillar Ladder (Wall), polychromed aluminum and aluminum, 93 3/8 x 41 7/16 x 43 15/16 inches, 2007-2011 (twitter.com)
Fig. 9. Acrobat, polychromed aluminum, galvanized steel, wood, and straw, 90 1/8 x 58 1/4 x 25 1/2 inches, 2007-2011 (jeffkoons.com)
Fig. 10. Triple Elvis, oil on canvas, oil on canvas 108 x 93 inches, 2003 (twitter.com)
Fig. 11. Rabbit, Statuary series, stainless steel, 41 x 19 x 12 inches (twitter.com)
Fig. 12. Pink Panther, Banality series, porcelain, 41 x 20 1/2 x 19 inches, 1988 (twitter.com)
Fig. 13. Woman in Tub, Banality series, porcelain, 23 3/4 x 36 x 27 inches, 1988 (twitter.com)
Artist, Admirer, Broker
Jeffrey Lynn Koons (b. 1955) originates from a family of a furniture dealer and a seamstress. Gifted kid, Koons copied the old masters already at eight and signed copies with his name. Things wouldn't change years later as the artist would lose many lawsuits for copyright infringement. In the 1970s, he studied painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His main inspiration was Salvador Dali. As Koons recalls in his Instagram, at nineteen, he had a chance to meet the artist at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City. At the meeting, young Koons was invited by Dali to his exhibition at the Knoedler Gallery, where the Spanish painter posed him for several photographs. When, three years later, Koons began working at the membership desk of the Museum of Modern Art, he dyed his hair red and wore a pencil mustache after Dali. Interestingly, in 1980, Koons became a Wall Street commodities broker at First Investors Corporation, as if being also inspired by the sarcastic anagram of Dali's name, Avida Dollars/I Want Money, invented by Andre Breton. His other artistic inspiration was Polish surrealist Ed Pashke, to whom he assisted in the late 1970s.
Fig. 14. I took several photos of Dali during our meeting, including this portrait where he posed after preparing himself by twirling his moustache upwards in front of his Royal Tiger painting. He was extremely generous, - Jeff Koons (Instagram.com).
In the extended Premium edition we're going to explore his New ready-made series, the artistic relationship between Koons and his Italian muse Cicciolina that resulted in, among other things, the controversial Made In Heaven series. Furthermore, attention is paid to Cicciolina's adult film career, all interspersed with 70 daring photos.
Click HERE for an article on Christina Lindberg, one of the beguiling star of 1970s exploitation movies
Sources: Wikipedia.org; jeffkoons.com; britannica.com; instagram.com/jeffkoons/; cummanifesto.blogspot.com
