After a somewhat arduous journey to New York’s Manhattan
Island I arrived at the Jeff Koons Whitney Retrospective last week. It is
truly; in every way, with no doubt, Jeff Koons. The exhibition is everything you have
ever heard (or known) about the pitchman/artist; everything! Koons touts his
work as a celebration of banality but the irony is the show itself in spite of
the scale, shiny mirror sheen and pop/art references is largely itself an
actual bore. It is also the most important exhibition in the world at this time
and will only be seen in museums in two other countries. The Pompidou Center in
France and the Bilbao in Spain will also house this extravagant behemoth of a retrospective.
Koons has never really intended his art for anyone other
than the one or point zero-zero one percent. In that he has succeeded like no
one else. He sustains the record for the highest price ever paid for the work
of a living artist ($58.4m.) The pieces are essentially a point for bragging
rights for the owners. “Look; I own a Jeff koons…see how rich I am!” Koons is
the tailor selling the emperor his new clothes while the emperor is well aware
and enjoying the con.
There
is a refined; assembly line precision to the works. I also; at times, had the
feeling of walking through a very high-end Walmart. Especially around the
Hoovers encased like a Damien Hirst Shark and the floating basketballs.
“Pick-Up in isle six!” At other times it seemed like a huge yard sale;
somewhere to unload a huge amount of expensive “dust collectors” or garden shop
plaster academic style yard sculptures in order to purchase newer, statelier,
brighter ones. As I walked through the Koons retro I couldn’t miss seeing a small
probably six or seven year old girl skipping through the galleries in a state
of contentment and glee. I imagine it gave her the feeling of navigating her
way through the objects of some fairy tale giant’s collection of porcelain nick
knacks. In her mind she could have been
an extra in one of Disney’s films like “Honey; I Shrunk The Kids” or “Babes in
Toy Land.”
There was another young woman, probably in her twenties
posing in front of selected pieces for her father. She was intent on getting
the look and stance of a sculpture that looked like an enlarged dime store toy
gorilla. She then did the same with the image of “The Incredible Hulk” represented
in a painting. When I say her heading for a Koons’ original from the “Made in
Heaven” series I was reluctant to look and quickly moved on. I can only imagine
what she did in front of it. “Made in
Heaven” is a series of pornographic photo realist paintings and sculptures by
Koon’s of Koons and his former Porn Star wife in totally explicit and erotic
poses. Is there nothing that is not for
sell or display by Koons?
People
were enjoying the exhibition in many ways. Photo flashes were a constant and it
was quite the circus for many jockeying for position in front of and around various
selected works. I have to admit that I
have enjoyed the work of Jeff Koons in other venues. I have seen his work at The
La County Museum of Art, SFMOMA and at Gagosian’s Miami Basel booth last December.
Each time Koons was immersed amongthe works of other contemporaries including
John Baldessari, Barbara Kruger and Chris Ofili.
It gave a balance to what Koons is attempting with his art. That
is besides making tons of money. His is
a reaction to the concept and idea of art. He has gone beyond other artists
into the forces behind the perfected viewing and purchasing of art as
commodity. When looking for anything deeper in the work we are literally confronted
with a mirror reflection of ourselves and the surrounding objects. Imagine a
carnival funhouse set of mirrors with Koons serving as the narcissistic barker
and we the rubes.
