Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Admission to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) is free on Tuesdays thanks to Target. I really wanted to see the Jeff Koons exhibit so I decided to go on a free Tuesday. Which was why I was downtown to have lunch and yogurt and see the Apple Store line.
Jeff Koons is pretty famous, some say he is even “one of the most well-known and intriguing artists of the 20th century.” I think most people would recognize his porcelain statue of Michael Jackson and Bubbles .. just from a WTF standpoint when it debuted. His work is very contemporary, kitschy, pop-culture focused. I didn’t know much about his art before going.. just the Michael Jackson thing and that he did all these kinds of sculpture that look like balloons, but are made from steel. I’m still thinking about it and figuring out how I feel, but I was impressed with how many different mediums he uses - oil on canvas, stainless steel, marble, basketballs, porcelain, wood. And how he’s done a bunch of commercial work for Nike and Gordon’s and Frangelico. On the other end of the spectrum there was a whole section of his work that kids were not allowed into because they were very sexually graphic paintings.
I’m more of a fan of the Art Institute (which, btw, Koons studied there in 1975), but I still enjoy visiting MCA from time to time to try to stay current.
1 response so far ↓
1 Jessica // Jul 24, 2008 at 7:28 am
I was lucky enough to attend a lecture he was doing at the MET a couple months ago. The lecture was in memory of a friend’s mother who worked at the MET for years. She was an amazing lady.
Jeff Koons is also an amazing man. For the lecture, he chose to take us through the years of his work. He spoke briefly on some pieces and more in depth on others. He talked about some rather personal and intimate experiences - making some people in the audience rather uncomfortable. I guess that is what helps make his art so interesting.
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