Koons

by Hans Werner (Editor)

Le creazioni di Jeff Koons (nato nel 1955) sono immediatamente accessibili, e al tempo stesso si sono guadagnate l'ingresso nella storia dell'arte. Dai palloni da basket agli animaletti di fiori, le sue opere inconfondibili giocano con l'immaginario più banale e al tempo stesso sono ricche di riferimenti culturali, dal Surrealismo alla Pop Art. L'arte di Koons sa essere una festa per gli occhi, ma è anche fortemente oltraggiosa. Il suo status di mega-artista si fonda su una serie di opere irriverenti, dai coniglietti d'acciaio alla sinistra scultura raffigurante Michael Jackson, fino alle serie fotografiche sessualmente esplicite realizzate in collaborazione con la sua ex moglie, Cicciolina. Re indiscusso della cultura visiva contemporanea, Koons è celebrato tanto dal pubblico quanto da collezionisti e istituzioni. Con una rassegna delle opere storiche di Koons e testi concisi firmati da Katy Siegel, Hans Werner Holzwarth ed Eckhard Schneider, questo volume offre un ritratto veloce di un gigante dell'arte mondiale, dai primi fiori gonfiabili fino ai giorni nostri.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2015

Reviews

[Mikey B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rabbit
1986 41 x 19 x 12 inches




Pink Panther - with Jeff Koons
1988 41 x 20.5 x 19 inches


Koons is quite the artist. He has shifted style and mediums drastically over the years – from vacuum cleaners to huge depictions and wild collages.

I would call his art ostentatious, flamboyant, eye-catching, eye-candy... The authors have the usual technical-philosophical analyzes. I do not find Koons’ work to be subtle, or any of the other terms frequently used in this book.

Koons for some of his larger works employed dozens of assistants. It would have been of interest if the authors would have interviewed some of them.

But this is a Taschen book with great reproductions!

Jeff Koons is from the U.S. and has had great success in Europe as well as parts of the U.S. (I don’t think his work would be too popular in, for example, Salt Lake City!).



Ushering in Banality
1988 38 x 62 x 30 in




Balloon Dog
1994 - 2000 121 x 143 x 45 in




Lips
2000 oil 120 x 168 in




Monkeys (Chair)
2003 112 x 23 x 29 in

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Photographs of some pieces by a famous artist.

I found most of these items a bit banal - a few caught my attention, mainly because I thought they were funny. I can only assume that given how successful this artist is I’m missing something.

[Aron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holzwarth writes that Koons 'looked very carefully' at what the middle class /really/ seems to like and enjoy (that is to say apart from what it feels it /should/ enjoy because it is considered 'high culture'). That is why much of his work is indistinguishable from the horrible kitsch one can find in many garden-material stores, or in stores that sell 'spiritual' objects. And that is why Koons likes to use stainless steel to fashion his sculptures out of: "To me the stainless steel is the material of the proletarian, it’s what pots and pans are made of. It’s very hard material and it’s fake luxury".

[Lea Dokter · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5. This was very consice and insightful. the pictures are top-quality and the text provided gave me the perfect amount of reflection and explanation of Koons' art. Especially for its price (10£) this exceeded my expectations. The reason this did not get 5 stars is that the text referenced specific works of Koons' art that were not visually represented in the book, which was a tad annoying.

[Isobel Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book lost momentum…but that’s probably because I personally find his earlier work more exciting than his (or should I say, his talented teams☕️) paintings, although they are important and fascinating, ‘made in heaven’ was his peak for me😍