Sorry, I keep thinking about Koons since last week’s blog…which might be a hopeful sign that there is more than meet the shiny surface of his gazing balls, who knows? I am still bothered by Koons slapping a blue ball on a Manet, Turner or Géricault masterpiece copy and calling it art (on view at Gagosian Beverly Hills until August 18th). But when he does it again on his Masters handbags at the Louis Vuitton store around the corner, the unease becomes aesthetic repulsion mixed with admiration for the shameless business calculation. Luxury handbags are still a lower price point than artworks, it’s a marketing dream Made in Heaven. But what about Art? Is a Vuitton bag with a cheap copy of the Mona Lisa on it a piece of art worth $4000? Visually, how different is it from the souvenir tote bag you can buy at the museum gift shop? What’s missing is any respect and modesty when listening to Koons’ interview for Vuitton. He has no qualms adjoining a shiny JK monogram on an equal footing to the Vuitton one (disclaimer: I do not own any Vuitton handbags). The fact that he lacks the 155-year brand history and capital […]
Wow, Jeff Koons! Looking at the rolled stainless steel perfection of the Celebration series (Balloon Dog, Rabbit and Flowers), people forget how this material can be incredibly difficult to work with on a monumental scale. These pieces are strikingly bold and visually fun. But are they really? I am usually left with a big question mark after viewing Koons works, as if the structural hollowness of these works verged on emptiness. Is there any meaning beneath the aesthetic kick? I so wish it could pop and reveal something! Anything! You could say I set myself for a tough contrast during a recent trip to Los Angeles, but I recommend viewing two exhibitions which actually deal with similar themes and are the subjects of my posts this week and next: Jeff Koons at Gagosian Beverly Hills and Lauren Greenfield’ Generation Wealth at the Annenberg Space for Photography. One shocked me, challenged me and made me think about past, present and future. The other was just, quite literally, full of air…Trust me, I really tried finding some meaning in the use of readymades by Jeff Koons. So here it goes…
Do yourself a favour, go see a point of view from Saudi Arabia that’s mainly ignored by the media these days. Pause by Abdulnasser Gharem is at LACMA. Rush to it before it closes on July 2, 2017. Here is why… September 11, 2001 changed the world as we knew it, for all of us. And here it is, creeping in, the “us” which goes with, or rather against, “them”. The self-perpetuating lack of understanding feeding only more violence. That knee-jerk reaction of protecting ourselves by closing off when we are in a state of shock and feeling under attack. We can’t begin to understand what happened and is still going on to this day… Don’t you wish we could hit Rewind and Stop? Erasing the bad dream… Instead, hit Pause at LACMA and look intently at Abdulnasser Gharem ‘ s powerful perspective. Gharem is from Saudi Arabia. He is a Muslim, an Arab, a lieutenant colonel in the Saudi army and he discovered that two of the 9/11 hijackers were old classmates.