Jeff Koons’ “Banality” Series
Jeff Koons is an American artist, born
in 1955, who is based in York, Pennsylvania. He became very famous in the 1980s
and was one of those artists who were at the centre of the great art boom of
the period. His big break-out work was from the “New” series: high-end
commercial vacuum cleaners that were displayed in glass boxes.
Koons’ art is influenced by Marcel
Duchamp and his ready-mades. A ready-made is an object that already exists that
is not made by the artist, but is transformed into an object of art through its
selection. Koons put a post-modern spin on this idea and takes objects in
images that already exists in art and popular culture and collages them
together. He makes sculptures, installations, and paintings. His practice
involves employing a large stable of assistants to execute his work. In fact,
he doesn’t do any of the making himself: he oversees the entire production and
makes all the decisions ie. colours, materials etc. Because Koons is so
prolific, I’m going to limit my discussion to a few of the pieces of the series
that he made in the late 1980s called “Banality”. I’ll start by saying that my
main critique of the work is that it lacks any depth of meaning: it does not go
beyond the object/image.
Michael
Jackson and Bubbles. I saw this piece when I was in Chicago many years ago.
Aside from a slight chuckle, I felt that this work didn’t really do anything
for me. It’s a porcelain sculpture of the now deceased pop icon Michael Jackson
with his pet monkey, Bubbles, on his lap. They are dressed in some kind of
military uniform which makes me think of The
Nutcracker Suite. A porcelain factory created the piece for him: he did not
do the sculpting himself. The piece is shallow and empty and in many ways, it
is the choice of material helps me not like it: because of the preciousness
(fragility) of the porcelain and also that it’s glossy and shiny (gold and
white).This makes the work seem frivolous and any connection to anything beyond
this image seems accidental. (details: 106.7 cm × 179.1 cm × 82.6 cm (42 in × 70.5 in
× 32.5 in))
Saint John the
Baptist. I
saw this work at the Seattle Art Museum. It is inspired by a painting by
Leonardo da Vinci, one can almost get some kind of a narrative from the piece because
of the familiar art iconography from Renaissance painting, but it’s a confusing
one. What do the pig and bird represent? What about the pose of St. John? The
work is meant to be a juxtaposition of the sacred and the profane, but this
contrast seems pretty dull: perhaps because we aren’t shocked by this kind of
image anymore. This is also made from porcelain and reminds me of tiny Jesus
icons at my grandmother’s house. There is no struggle or strife that why would
associate with this figure from Christianity. It might as well be Michael
Jackson in his place. Once again the objects don’t encourage any kind of deeper
investigation. (details: 142.2 cm ×
73.7 cm × 43.2 cm (56 in × 29 in × 17 in))
Ushering in
Banality. A
pretty pig is being pushed by a few cherubs (clothed) and a small boy (which
Koons identifies as himself) who could be straight out of a Norman Rockwell
illustration. It is quaint and cozy. It might be slightly jarring to some because
you know the boy is in for a messy time, but it doesn’t go much further than
that. Whatever narrative is being conjured up here, it isn’t very interesting. These
figures could be enlarged replicas from your grandmother’s Hummel figurines
collection. But I would admit it’s an interesting use of the language and
symbols of the bourgeois household. It’s not enough to interest me however, and
once again, I’m left with a blind alley in terms of what the work means. (details:
Polychrome wood 96.5 cm × 157.5 cm × 76.2 cm (38
in × 62 in × 30 in))
Is it enough to
illicit indifference in a work of art? Maybe that’s the point that I’m missing
in Koons’ work. I am indifferent to it, so I think it is bad art. Perhaps the
art is doing its job by making me not like it? Another thing that bothers me
about Koons’ work is the blatant commercialism of it all. It reflects the
grandiosity of the elite class without any sort of commentary or critique.
Especially now, with most of the world’s economic systems failing, this kind of
work seems out of tune with the reality of our time and out of touch with most
people.
Silver
Bunny. I like this piece.
