Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons was born in Pennsylvania in 1955, and is best known for his playful and larger-than-life sculptures and photographs. Some call his work “Neo-kitch,” especially his famous balloon dogs. He attended the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he pursued a MFA. While at this school, he attended an art show by Chicago artist Jim Nutt at Whitney Museum in NY, which inspired him to change schools to School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he earned an honorary doctorate in 2008. Koons’s first show was in 1980, and since then he has earned multiple awards such as the State Department’s Medal of Arts and was deemed an honorary member of the Royal Academy in London.
Koons creates art that touches on sexuality, consumerism, race, gender, and fame. While some call his art “kitch,” he states he's never seen it that way. His art is mostly sculptures, usually with a highly metallic look. He is most famous for his giant, colorful balloon sculptures. He comments on the emptiness of consumerism and materialism through many of his works, especially by creating a hollow inside to his pieces. He is a very controversial figure, and is often criticized by the public and critics for being air-headed and egotistical. To illustrate all of this, I decided to have Jeff Koon’s face depicted on colorful balloons, as he morphs to the shine and color the balloons posses, unable to stand on his own and quite literally being an “air head.” Behind these balloons are multiple lines taken from interviews with or about him, both praising and criticizing his work.
Kelsey Briding
