Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons
Jeffrey "Jeff" Koonsis an American artist known for working with popular culture subjects and his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror-finish surfaces. He lives and works in both New York City and his hometown of York, Pennsylvania...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPop Artist
Date of Birth21 January 1955
CityYork, PA
CountryUnited States of America
american-artist create open spoken trying viewers work
I'm always trying to create work that doesn't make viewers feel they're being spoken down to, so that they feel open participation.
build roads trying
This thing got jammed down our throats, ... To me it just didn't make any sense. Even to this day, we're trying to think about how we're going to build roads out there.
trying enjoy audience
I don't like being naïve about the market, and I always try to make things as great as I can. Then I hope that there's an audience that enjoys them, and that hopefully those things get protected.
creating trying use
I use printers to make prints of the images that I am creating. And I try to have that surface kind of replicated in the painting.
artist trying levels
I try to be a truthful artist and I try to show a level of courage. I enjoy that. I'm a messenger.
trying use gestures
Every day I wake up and I really try to pinch myself to take advantage of today and to use that freedom of gesture to do what I really like to do.
trying participation feels
I try to create work that doesn't make viewers feel they're being spoken down to, so they feel open participation.
art bigger dad future realize son thinking trying
I was trying to make art that my son could look on in the future and would realize I was thinking about him very much during these times... that he can look and see my dad's thinking about me, but to also embed in these things something that is bigger than all of us.
artists supported time
I think artists are always investigating how to have an economic, political platform. At one time, artists were supported by the Church. Then they were supported also by the state.
almost bringing finished model work
When you have an idea for a work and when you've finished your model for it, for the artist it's almost complete, in a way. But then bringing it to the finish is really something you do for the audience. It is always exciting.
resolve waited
We waited too long to resolve this, ... Negotiations went sideways, and then up and down.
life tend throw
Pretty mundane closet, but a lot of ties. And I tend not to throw anything out, so I have a lot of clothes from all times from my life. I can be a little sentimental with things like that.
coming craft feeling form realize soon wasted
Even in making objects, as soon as you start to get the feeling that some form of craft is coming into place, you realize that everything is wrong. Because craft is really just a fetish. It is wasted energy. It's about the object, some space which has nothing to do with the human.
biological certain excitement feels generate physical possibilities reaction respond work
There are certain artworks that I respond to, artists that I respond to. It's an intellectual reaction but it's also a biological reaction. And the excitement that the work can generate - how it makes you feel about not only your intellectual possibilities but your physical possibilities in this world. How it feels to be alive!