Jeff Koons by Elizabeth Harker B.A. in Art History, May 2004, Mary Washington College A Thesis submitted to The Faculty of The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts August 31, 2011 Thesis directed by Alexander Dumbadze Assistant Professor of Art History © Copyright 2011 by Elizabeth Harker All rights reserved ii Abstract of Thesis Jeff Koons The purpose of this thesis is to recognize a shift in the artwork of Jeff Koons in the year 1992 by way of establishing two distinct periods of the artist’s career, pre- and post- 1992. A successful New York artist in the early 1980’s, Jeff Koons career spiraled downward in 1989. In 1992 and the following years, Koons was able to recover and boost his profile to superstardom. I explain this transformation in Koons’ career by investigating the period between 1989 and 1992, comparing critical reviews of the artwork in each of the two periods. Additionally, I illustrate the differences between the works created from the two periods by providing descriptions and examples of individual pieces. Koons typically works in series. Therefore I rely heavily on the series produced directly before and after the two- year transition period. In particular, the series “Made in Heaven” (1989) and “Celebration” (1994-2009) emphasize my claims. Individual artworks such as large- scale topiary sculptures Puppy (1992) and Split Rocker (2000) are also imperative to the support my argument. I further consider an examination of Koons comments about his work in order to support my claim that he significantly altered his style of art due a number of negatively received projects and tumultuous personal events. I claim that the artwork produced during second period of his career was a reaction against these developments. Koons responded by producing overtly pleasing, visually spectacular, large-scale sculptures that eventually elevated his career into the phenomenon it is today. iii Table of Contents Abstract of Thesis …………………………………………………...……..iii Table of Content…………………………………………………………….iv List of Figures……………………………………………………..………….v Text of Thesis…………………………………………………….….……….1 Bibliography…………………………………………………………..…..…24 . Appendices………………………………………………………….…...…..34 iv List of Figures Figure 1………………………………………………………………………………...34 Figure 2………………………………………………………………………………...35 Figure 3………………………………………………………………………………...36 Figure 4………………………………………………………………………………...37 Figure 5………………………………………………………………………………...38 Figure 6………………………………………………………………………………...39 Figure 7………………………………………………………………………………...40 Figure 8…………………………………………………………………………..…….40 Figure 9…………………………………………………………………………..…….41 Figure 10……………………………………………………………………………….42 Figure 11……………………………………………………………………………….43 Figure 12…………………………………………………………………………….…44 Figure 13……………………………………………………………………………….45 Figure 14………………………………………………………………………….…....46 Figure 15…………………………………………………………………………..…...47 Figure 16…………………………………………………………………………..…...47 Figure 17…………………………………………………………………………..…...48 v Four stories high, Puppy (1992) towers over its viewers with a whimsical and playful atmosphere (Figure 1). With its amiable subject matter, the piece characterizes the recent work of Jeff Koons. His art from 1992 onwards, particularly, Puppy, Split-Rocker (2000) (Figure 2), and his sculptures from his “Celebration” series (1994-2005) beg for attention due to their size, subject, locations, and material. Koons’s artistic career, I argue, can be separated into two distinct periods, pre- and post-1992. Koons began to expand his art, in particular his sculptures, to tremendous proportions after 1992. He pumped up their eye-catching appeal with bright colors and shiny materials. Additionally, he produced works that represented nostalgic, childish themes. What caused him to change his work so suddenly and drastically? The answer for this question will be determined by in depth examination of the period between 1990 and 1992. It will be supported by an assessment of the reception of Koons’ artworks just before and following the period of transition. I assert that due to negative critical reaction and several personal issues Koons shifted the mood of his artwork to more light-hearted themes, from more serious topics such as consumption and sexuality. With this change, he instantly found success with the exhibition of Puppy in 1992. This is not to say that Koons was not successful before 1989. He did receive positive critical responses from his early artwork. However, it was not until 1992 that he achieved widespread critical and public achievement. Additionally, the sale of his works sky rocketed on the secondary market and he was able to insert himself into pup culture. The positive reaction from both critics and the public of his new style of art was enough to 1 inspire Koons to adjust his body of work to this new mode of working. He has overtly stated that his large sculptures were necessary to pump up their size to gain attention, “It’s a really big world… People are used to looking at larger things. You just have to compete with the rest of the world.”1 In addition, he has repeatedly divulged that the conception of these new works originated from his desire to insert joviality into the minds of the viewers. Koons stated, “I’ve tried to make work that any viewer, no matter where they came from, would have to respond to, would have to say that on some level ‘Yes, I like it.’ If they couldn’t do that, it would only be because they had been told they were not supposed to like it. Eventually they will be able to strip all that down and say ‘You know, it’s silly, but I like that piece. It’s great.”2 Simply put, Koons established these changes in order to add joy into his work, and to appeal to the greater public. The material Koons used, the subject matter he employed, and the scale of his art distinguish the two periods separated by the two and a half years of transition. The periods before 1990 and after 1992 possess noticeably different characteristics. In his art from the 1980s, Koons produced work in accordance with the trends of the East Village art scene. Concentrating on appropriation and consumerist themes, he established himself as an emerging artist with achievements in small, but influential East Village galleries, like International with Monument. Examples of this are his works exhibiting vacuum cleaners, alcohol and basketball advertisements, or small knick-knack replicas, such as Dr. Dunkenstein from 1985 (Figure 3). This work is an appropriation of a Nike poster of Darrell Griffith, at the time a famous professional 1 David Bowie, “Super-Banalism and the Innocent Salesman,” Modern Painters (Spring 1998): 32. 2 Jeff Koons and Robert Rosenblum, The Jeff Koons Handbook. (New York: Rizzoli, 1992),112. 2 basketball player, splitting open a basketball while dressed as a doctor. Koons purchased the poster from the manufacturer, framed it, and presented it as an original artwork.3 Other artists also created pieces that appropriated specific advertisements in the early 1980’s. For example, Richard Prince was inspired by Marlboro cigarette advertisements, often re-photographing popular advertisements as seen in Untitled (Cowboy) from 1983 (Figure 4). It was not until after 1992, or the start of the new phase in Koons career, that he identified a means for major critical and financial success: charming themes, bright colors, and immense size. In both his later paintings and sculptures he employed subject matter of a more upbeat and joyful nature: toys, animals, cartoons, balloons, and food. The reason for his sudden transition from his earlier consumer based appropriation works in the 1980’s to his later amusingly themed large-scale sculptures of the 1990’s has not been addressed.4 By establishing the differences between the two periods and delving into Koons’s background, persona, and artwork, a potential justifications can be established. Throughout his career, Koons has worked in series. Each series maintains comparable styles, topics, and themes. Koons's method of grouping his art into 3 Dan Cameron, “Art and its Double: A New York Retrospective.” Flash Art 134 (May 1987): 68. 4 For a reference of recent major studies on Jeff Koons see the bibliography section of this paper. In a monograph on the artist, Francesco Bonami, ed. Jeff Koons. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2008, Bonami claims that Jeff Koons is one of the most elusive yet open minded artists of his time. He investigated the artwork of his entire career and likens the majority of it to Baroque Art and claims Koons finds faith in his art as one would through religion. He also asserts that many of Koons works can be seen as sexual in the way of a metaphor for aesthetic pleasure. Thomas Kellein’s study of Koons, Pictures from 2003 is purely an investigation into the development of his early sculptures and the formation of his paintings. He claims the early sculptures were a precursor and titles them “three- dimensional paintings”. Other then the Jeff Koons Handbook, which was published in middle of 1992, the publication with the most comprehensive inclusion of Koons career is Rainer Crone, ed. Jeff Koons: Highlights of 25 Years. New York: C&M Arts, 2004. This book merely identifies the highlights of Koons career through visual illustrations and generic information. 3 series has continued to the present day. Each series has common themes and visual similarities. When comparing examples of artwork from the two periods I have established, I will refer primarily to “Banality “ and “Made In Heaven” for the early period and Puppy and “Celebration” for the second period. Opening concurrently at three galleries in New York, Chicago, and Cologne, he produced the critically successful “Banality” series from 1988.5 As Linda Weintraub wrote about Koons’s artwork in a 1996 publication, “Kitsch is captivating.” 6 The show incorporated small hand-painted porcelain and ceramic sculptures of animals, children, and flowers. Examples of this subject matter can be seen in such works’ as Michael Jackson and Bubbles (Figure 5), or Wild Boy and Puppy (Figure 6), both from 1988. Koons’ pieces from “Banality” are outlandish.