Of all the kitsch artists, Jeff Koons is perhaps one of the most famous. Koons studied painting at college, and worked as a commodities broker while making a name for himself as an artist. An interesting aspect of Koon's work is that he does not construct his pieces himself. Instead, he supplies ideas to a staff of artists who then work to transform his ideas into actual works of art.
His works do not attempt to have any hidden meaning; instead, their meaning lies entirely within the viewer's first impression. He once stated, "A viewer might at first see irony in my work... but I see none at all. Irony causes too much critical contemplation."
His works do not attempt to have any hidden meaning; instead, their meaning lies entirely within the viewer's first impression. He once stated, "A viewer might at first see irony in my work... but I see none at all. Irony causes too much critical contemplation."
Koons's work is often defined as Pop Art, a movement that mocked the established art world by using images from the street, popular culture, or mass media and presenting them as art. It put art into terms of everyday life. Nothing was considered too common to be art. This blurred the distinction between "high art" and "low art" and allowed commercial art methods to be considered on par with fine art methods.
Popeye, Oil on canvas, 2003
Examples of Koons's use of everyday objects or pop icons can be seen in his balloon animal sculptures and his piece Michael Jackson and Bubbles.
Balloon Dog (Yellow), high chromium stainless steel with transparent color coating, 1994–2000
Koon's series of balloon sculptures captures the trivial playfulness of a child's plaything and exalts it as fine art. Increasing the scale lends the piece a sense of importance, and making it out of metal implies a permanence, something completely opposite the represented object's natural state. In keeping with his theme of using everyday objects, Koons uses stainless steel, an industrial, common metal, to create his works, not a more traditional, "elitist" metal like bronze.
Many times, Koons has stated that he wishes his art to reach as wide an audience as possible, which he does by picking popular, contemporary subjects. This highly representational sculpture of Michael Jackson shows the blending of fine art with popular culture. The figure is life-sized and liberally applied with gold leaf, traditionally used to highlight things of importance or great worth.
But in addition to being simply a Pop Art figure, Koons takes things to the next level: kitsch. Kitsch prides itself in evoking reactions by featuring things that are considered to be in "bad taste." Good examples of Koons's kitsch are included below.
Woman in Tub, porcelain, 1988
Ushering in Banality, polychromed wood sculpture, 1988
Pink Panther, porcelain, 1988
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