Artist Research // Jeff Koons

The artist that I chose to research is Jeff Koons. Koons was born in Pennsylvania in 1955 and grew up to be one of the most famous artists of the century. Koons creates his art because he enjoys the heightened sensations that art brings him and wants his viewers his viewers to feel the same way. In addition, he desires that when people come into contact with art, it will be about their own history and their own potential.

Seeing Koons’ work in person and various pieces on the internet, I believe that Koons really knows how to grab the attention of his viewers. One of the crucial reasons why Koons became so popular is his use of materials. For example, every single sculpture that was made from stainless steel will guarantee attract people’s eyes to it. It literally is impossible to miss his work whenever you go inside a museum. The reflective surface has made it perfect for instagram selfies and overall an aesthetic picture. In addition, the way he colors each sculpture with primary colors makes the sculpture stand out even more. Furthermore, the scale of his sculptures grabs even more attention than before. The combination of his use of colors, stainless steel, and scale gives him the ability to grab the eyes of anyone in the world.

A little personal anecdote about my experience with Jeff Koons. About 4 years ago, I saw Jeff Koons’ Giant Balloon Dog and Tulips at The Broad museum, however I did not know he was the one responsible for creating it. It is one of the largest sculptures within the entire museum making it impossible to miss. At the time, I remember being fascinated with the sculpture because of it’s reflective material and pure scale, but this entire time, I just didn’t know who made it. But seeing his art for the first time, it brought me back to my childhood and my history. At that moment, it reminded me of all the times that I received a balloon animal. I tend to not really think about the past (not that I don’t want to, it’s just I forget), but this brought a lot of emotions that I felt as a kid. In that way, I personally believe Koons’ mission to make people reflect about their own history became a reality in my life.

Article I read by Jeff Koons: https://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/magazines/jeff-koons-muse/