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Jeff Koons (born January 21, 1955 in York,
Pennsylvania) is an United States|American list of
contemporary artists|contemporary artist and
sculptor. He worked as a Wall Street commodities
broker before becoming famous as an artist in the
1980s. 

As the self-proclaimed "most written-about artist
in the world," Jeff Koons has attained a "star"
pop status rivaling his precursor Andy Warhol.
However, the Koons phenomenon – Koons
himself, his objects, and the discursive reception
that surrounds it all – is inherently
paradoxical. Koons is made out to be a critical
commentator in the tradition of the Dada|Dadaists
and a controversial figure in the footsteps of the
avant-garde, yet his art-historical glory resides
in the perception that he is "flat" – no
depth, all surface. This meaninglessness and
banality, above all, is his contribution to art.

Critics have often been scathing in discussing his
work.  His "Made In Heaven" exhibition featured
photographs and sculptures of Koons having
intercourse with his wife, the Italian porn star
and politician Ilona Staller|Cicciolina. Mark
Stevens of The New Republic wrote that he was a
"decadent artist because he lacks the imaginative
will to do more than trivialize and italicise his
themes and the tradition in which he works... He
is another of those who serve the tacky rich." 
Michael Kimmelman of The New York Times wrote it
was "one last, pathetic gasp of the sort of
self-promoting hype and sensationalism that
characterized the worst of the" 1980s. 
"Artificial," "cheap," and "unabashedly cynical,"
were Kimmelman's labels.

In 1992, Koons was commissioned to create a piece
for an art exhibition in Bad Arolsen, Germany. The
result was Puppy, a 13-meter (43 foot) tall
topiary sculpture of a West Highland White Terrier
puppy executed in a variety of flowers on a steel
substructure. In 1995 the sculpture was dismantled
and reerected in Sydney Harbor on a new, more
permanent, stainless steel armature with an
internal irrigation system. In 1997 the piece was
purchased by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
and installed on the terrace outside the
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Before the dedication of
the museum in a trio disguised as gardeners
attempted to plant explosive-filled flowerpots
near the sculpture
http://www.artnet.com/magazine_pre2000/news/robins
on/robinson10-14-97.asp. Bilbao police foiled the
scheme. Since its installation, Puppy has become a
familiar icon for the city of Bilbao. In the
summer of 2000 it travelled to New York City for a
temporary exhibition at Rockefeller Center.

Koons commissioned a song, about himself, on Momus
(musician)|Momus' 1999 album Stars Forever.  

He was elected as a Fellow to the American Academy
of Arts and Sciences in 2005.

==Further reading==
*The Jeff Koons Handbook (1993) by Jeff Koons
("the first monograph and primary sourcebook"),
ISBN 0847816966.
*Michael Kimmelman.  "Jeff Koons."  The New York
Times.  November 29, 1991.
*Mark Stevens.  "Adventures in the Skin Trade." 
The New Republic.  January 20, 1992.
*Judd Tully.  "Jeff Koons's Raw Talent:  In New
York, an X-rated Exhibition."  The Washington
Post.  December 15, 1991.
*Coupland, Douglas (2001).
"http://www.eyestorm.com/feature/ED2n_article.asp?
article_id=202 Jeff Koons: Getting It." Eyestorm
(dealer newsletter).

==External links==

*http://www.jca-online.com/koons.html Jeff Koons
interviewed by Klaus Ottmann
*http://www.xs4all.nl/~exadega/koons/index.html
Jeff Koons - A Collection of Images
*http://www.artfacts.net/index.php/pageType/artist
Info/artist/2297/lang/1 Actual Exhibitions from
Jeff Koons
*http://3quarksdaily.blogs.com/3quarksdaily/2005/0
7/monday_musing_d.html Defending Jeff Koons Short
essay by Morgan Meis of http://3quarksdaily.com 3
Quarks Daily