Topic for Apr. 25. ( Thur )

[Alex !]

*If you have never seen Jeff Koons artwork, plz. Try to research his ones!
Then we talk about him and his work.

Is Jeff Koons Actually an Artist or just showman ?

At some point in time, many of us have been asked the question: what is art?Maybe all high school art history classes begin with the teacher asking a room full of pupils the very same inquiry, which can elicit blank stares or intense debate.

There’s no right or wrong answer, though. Historically, to be an artist worthy of and eligible for inclusion in the Western canon required the male sex and to varying degrees, whiteness and privilege. All three of those unspoken requirements are met by the highest-paid living artist today, Jeff Koons.

Jeff Koons is a polarizing figure in contemporary art; often people either love him or hate him. As the self-proclaimed “ideas man” behind controversial and at times infamous sculptures, paintings, and various fabrications, Koons has been forthright about his absence in the material production of his work. In a Meet the Artists interview, Jeff Koons vaguely explains the metaphysical allure of light and reflection.

Wading into the waters of who is or isn’t an artist can get murky. This is in part due to the subjectivity of art and its historical and institutional problem of canonical gatekeeping. In that regard, let’s shift the inquiry elsewhere. Given that Jeff Koons has nothing to do with the material production of works that bear his name, can he really be considered an artist?

For every work of art listed on his website, Jeff Koons receives both credit and copyright ownership. Though, much like an architect, the extent of Koons’ contribution to hands-on construction is null. Where an architect’s plan serves as a roadmap for the contractors hired to construct their design, Koons bears no responsibility for the technical ingenuity and proprietary knowledge of how his idea or concept is engineered. That part, like the manual labor bringing his ideas to fruition, is also outsourced.

This all begs the question: if Jeff Koons isn’t an artist then what is he? Simply put, there is no simple answer. What cannot be refuted is Koons’ excellent salesmanship and marketing skills. Can the same really be said for his artistic acumen? On one hand, the art world has definitively answered that question with a resounding yes. On the other hand, if we’re to take anything from conversations about de-colonizing art history in academic circles then we ought to probe not only the artist and their art but the way in which their art is produced.

Today, we look at the buzz surrounding controversial contemporary artist Jeff Koons, whose work still attracts its critics, despite its distinction...

Despite being the most expensive living artist in the world, Jeff Koons is still a subject of controversy on a regular basis. It's perhaps the flip side of fame... Considered overrated, commercial, and provocative, Jeff Koons, who is also well-versed in art history, has crafted a highly commercial and quite unique body of work over the years.

His works, described as "kitsch" and "neo-pop," depict American icons and everyday objects - even those from childhood. While his work is highly prized by wealthy collectors, Koons claims to create art for the masses. Being widely recognized and active for many years, he has certainly faced numerous controversies...

Jeff Koons has been accused several times of plagiarism, of drawing heavy inspiration from the works of other artists without seeking rights. In 2014, just before the start of his retrospective at the Centre Georges Pompidou, he was accused of using a photograph by French artist Jean-François Bauret to create the sculpture "Naked," part of the "Banality" series begun in 1988. The deceased photographer's wife took legal action against Koons, a trial that began in January 2017...

HE’S NOT AN ARTIST BECAUSE HE DOESN’T MAKE HIS ART.

He steals other people’s imagery, hires other people to make them into art, and puts his name on it. Just look at the court records from his numerous intentional copyright infringements. Koons is nothing more than a “good” salesman peddling mediocre works to people with amounts of money no one deserves. That isn’t art, it’s late stage capitalism. In the end….. Koons does not ‘make’ his pieces…. He conceives the ideas, has someone else produce the work, and then puts his name on it when it’s ready to be unveiled. To me, that is a fraud. If he did the actual work instead of a team of ‘assistants’, he would be deserving of the credit. An epic movie has credits at the end of it, Jeff Koons ‘work’ should give credit to the production crew that created his fiction.