Jeff Koons

Artist Research Assignment: Jeff Koons Jeff Koons was born in 1955 in York, Pennsylvania. When Koons was 7 years old, his parents put him in art lessons. In 1972 to 1975, he enrolled at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1975, he went to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois where he studied there for only 1 year. Then in 1976, he went back to Maryland College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland where he received his B. F. A. Jeff Koons has 4 sons with his wife Justine Wheeler-Koons, who is also an artist.

He had one daughter named Shannon who as an infant was put up for adoption but in the mid-1990s, they reestablished a relationship together. Many of Koons works have sold for millions of dollars. Some of his major gallery exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago (1988), Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (1993), Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin (2000), Kunsthaus Bregenz (2001), the Museo archeologico nazionale di Napoli (2003), the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo (2004), and the Helsinki City Art Museum (2005).

Jeff Koons has received numerous awards and honors in recognition of his cultural achievements, and artworks. (“Koons, Jeff. ” Art Full Text Biographies. Publisher of Original Publication: The H. W. Wilson Company, 2009. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. ) “I get all my inspiration from the real world, so I’m much more involved in just walking down the street…. and finding out what’s going on in the world then to look at another person’s interpretation. ” Jeff Koons, Flash Art, Summer 1997. (Brettell, Richard R. Modern Art, 1851-1929: Capitalism and Representation. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999. Print. ).

Based on the quote, he gets his ideas from objects around him that he sees and from there he develops an artwork. Jeff Koons uses cheap, throwaway objects, such as balloons or even ornaments, and with the materials he creates a large monument. (Doney, Malcolm, and Meryl Doney. The Oxford Children’s A to Z of Art. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999. Print. ). Jeff Koons artwork appeals to me because its different and unique. I like the fact that he takes cheap objects that he finds and uses them to create these wonderful art pieces. When I was looking at Jeff Koons artworks, I thought back to our tutorial discussions/debates where we were arguing back nd forth about what is art and what is not art. Many people believe that Jeff Koons artwork is not considered art, however I believe that his artworks are considered art because its his own creation and it is a new kind art that we have not seen much of. From our lecture, Professor Brandon Vickerd talked a little about Jeff Koons, and he stated that “Some people would look at his work as pioneering and of major art-historical importance, while others view his work as kitsch: crass and based on cynical self-merchandising. ” (Taken from PowerPoint).

By researching this artist, I found that basically anything could be considered art as long as you make it your own, original and make it look interesting. Works Cited Scholarly Source: “Koons, Jeff. ” Art Full Text Biographies. Publisher of Original Publication: The H. W. Wilson Company, 2009. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. Books: Brettell, Richard R. Modern Art, 1851-1929: Capitalism and Representation. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999. Print. Doney, Malcolm, and Meryl Doney. The Oxford Children’s A to Z of Art. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999. Print. Images: “Jeff Koons. ” Jeff Koons. N. p. , n. d. Web. 6 Oct. 2012. http://www. jeffkoons. com/site/index. html.

Annotated Bibliography

(“Koons, Jeff. ” Art Full Text Biographies. Publisher of Original Publication: The H. W. Wilson Company, 2009. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. ) This source contains information about Jeff Koons life, career, artworks, exhibitions, and other interesting facts. It is important for my research because it gave me a better understanding about Jeff Koons, and all the important events that happened throughout his life. (Brettell, Richard R. Modern Art, 1851-1929: Capitalism and Representation. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999.Print. ) This source contains a quote that Jeff Koons said. It is important for my research because Jeff Koons tell us where he gets his inspiration for his artwork. (Doney, Malcolm, and Meryl Doney. The Oxford Children’s A to Z of Art. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999. Print. ) This source contains information about Jeff Koons artwork. It is important for my research because it gave me a better understanding about the medium that Jeff Koons uses to create his artwork. (“Jeff Koons. ” Jeff Koons. N. p. , n. d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. http://www. jeffkoons. com/site/index. html. This source contains information and images about Jeff Koons most famous artworks. It is important for my research because it gave me images and a description about the artworks. Two of Jeff Koons most popular artworks Jeff Koons is best known for his so called dull and thoughtless works, which have included four-story-tall floral sculptures (Puppy) and massive chromium stainless steel balloon animals (Rabbit). ? This is Jeff Koons Sculpture called Puppy, which is made in a variety of flowers and its about 13 meters high (486 x 486 x 256 inches/ 1234. 4 x 1234. 4 x 650. 2 cm).

This artwork was exhibited in Sydney, Australia at the Museum of Contemporary Art on December 12, 1995 to March 17, 1996. (“Jeff Koons. ” Jeff Koons. N. p. , n. d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. http://www. jeffkoons. com/site/index. html. ) ? In 1989, Jeff Koons created one of his most famous artworks, which he called Rabbit (41 x 19 x 12 inches/ 104. 1 x 48. 3 x 30. 5 cm). He took an already made inflatable rabbit, and covered it in a highly polished stainless steel colour. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago currently owns this piece. (“Jeff Koons. ” Jeff Koons. N. p. , n. d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. http://www. jeffkoons. com/site/index. html. )