Two Words, One Answer.
Jeff Koons
 Jeff Koons $45.00 I've always been a fan of Jeff Koons. I love his wit, his irony, and his ability to push boundaries. Not only is this book/catalog a great survey of his work, but an incredibly thorough documentation of the artist's oeuvre and exhibition at the MCA Chicago. (Besides, the price here is fantastic - I bought this at the exhibition last summer and it is still worth every penny.) This is a must for artists, fans, educators, pop culture enthusiasts, and anyone interested in contemporary art.  Jeff Koons: Pictures 1980-2002 $35.00 This volume is too slender though it's beautifully made and the color reproductions are excellent. The book is divided chronologically by series (e.g. Equilibrium, Banality, Easyfun, etc.). There is a brief introduction by Thomas Kellein followed by Jeff Koons' slightly longer one. The first-person comments by Koons are interesting and are nice to see right next to the work he is discussing but for a book with pretensions at being a career retrospective it is way too thin, does not feature any substantial critical essays, and only reproduces a small number of works from each series.  Jeff Koons: Easy Fun-Ethereal $35.00 For his recent series of work entitled Easy Fun-Ethereal, Jeff Koons employs new computer technology to merge populist icons into desktop collages, which he then transforms into traditional oil paintings rendered with photorealist precision. Drawn from glossy magazines and advertisements, the imagery includes smiley-faced sandwiches, spiraling roller coasters, succulent lips and abstract juice splashes. These hybrids of fun and fantasy simultaneously celebrate childhood pleasures and adult sexual desire: in keeping with Koons's stated intention to "communicate with the masses," the cheerful works are accessible to all. Accompanying an exhibition of seven large-scale paintings commissioned for the Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin, this lively volume features 40 full-color reproductions. Art historian David Sylvester's interview with Koons puts forth the artist's perspective on his career to date, while Robert Rosenblum's essay provides an in-depth analysis of the technique and imagery employed in EasyFun-Ethereal. Essay by Robert Rosenblum.~Interview by David Sylvester. Hardcover, 11 x 8.25 in./80 pgs / 40 color 0 BW0 duotone 0 ~ Item D20385 |
|
