Balloon dog, Jeff Koons Jeff Koons is a 61 year-old, American artist who is known for his famous artworks like his balloon animals. His works are sold for huge amounts of money. His orange balloon dog was sold for 58.4 million dollars making it the most expensive work made by an living artist sold at auction. Jeff Koons has stated that there are no underlying messages in his artworks. Jeff Koons also said: 'A viewer might see irony in my work..... but I see none at all.' The only meaning is the first impression of the viewer. The purpose of making the balloon dog was to make something that reflects the joy of a party or a birthday. All the balloon dogs he made are different. One is blue, one is yellow, one is red, one is magenta and one is orange. He did this to show that every colour is perfect. The reason that he enjoys things that involve air is that they are a symbol of us, we are breathing machines, we are inflatable and we are a symbol of optimism and future. Jeff Koons believes that art does not happen inside objects. That is why he chose a reflective surface to reflect the people and in that way the people make the art.
When I first saw the balloon dog I thought it was quite funny and I became happy. I also thought that there should be an underlying message. However, I could not come up with one. So I think that Jeff Koons did a good job creating something which makes people happy without an underlying theme. Also I think it is awesome how he wants to make clear that the art happens inside the viewer and that the viewer can think about what the balloon dog means to him or her. Also the travelling around the world of the balloon dog is quite interesting. It connects the world and the balloon dog reflected all kinds of cultures and environments. The funny thing is that the balloon dog is abstract and realistic at the same time. Also I like the fact that the object itself is completely realistic but by making it out of reflective material Koons made it abstract as well. So all the different aspects of the balloon dog makes me think it is pretty awesome.
Tuttomundo, Keith Haring Keith Haring was a very famous artist whose work represents different concepts. His work always had to do with something political. His bold lines, vivid colors and active individuals carry multiple messages of life and unity. He has made more than fifty artworks and he was a good friend of Andy Warhol, another incredibly famous, American artist. Keith Haring was openly gay and he showed that in some of his artworks as well. Tuttomundo is created somewhere in the city of Pisa, Italy. The artwork shows peace and harmony. Somehow each figure is linked to another. Each figure represents a different aspect of peace in the world: the "human" scissors are the image of solidarity between Man in defeating the serpent (that is evil), which is already eating the head of the figure next to it; the woman with a baby in her arms represents maternity, the two men supporting the dolphin refer to the relationship between human and nature and the figure with four bodies in one in the middle supports five of the other figures. This shows cooperation and support. Keith Haring chose specific colours which match the buildings in Pisa to make the picture in harmony with its environment. Firstly I thought that this artwork was strange and too surrealistic but after the research I found out that it has so many beautiful meanings. I also thought that this would be considered as vandalism. However, Keith Haring really cared about the environment where he created his artwork by choosing colours matching the surroundings. At first I thought he did just create this without permission but he actually had permission and he was being helped by other citizens of Pisa. Even the inspiration for this mural was a student of Pisa. What I did not see either at the beginning was that all the figures are linked each other and now that I know that, I like this artwork by Keith Haring much more and I got way more respect and more recognition for this artwork. Last summer I went to Pisa and unfortunately I did not visit this artwork which I would have done if had known this was there.
Fallen star, Do Ho Suh Do Ho Suh is a 54 year-old, South-Korean artist. He lives in America and South-Korea at the same time, hopping from work to family. One of his main themes is migration. Do Ho Suh is most famous for the installations he made. The fallen star is made in 2012 and is built on the seventh floor of the Jacobs school of Engineering at the university of California in San Diego. It reflects Suh’s on-going exploration of themes around the idea of home, cultural displacement, the perception of our surroundings, and how one constructs a memory of a space. The roof garden is part of his design and the whole creates a space with panoramic views for small groups to gather. Suh’s small “home” has perhaps been picked up by some mysterious force and appears to have landed or crashed onto the seventh floor of Jacobs Hall at the Jacobs School of Engineering. This artwork looks realistic but where it is located is very unusual. When I first saw this I thought it was funny and beautiful because of the weird location and I thought the garden was amazing. What I think is awesome is that it does not match its environment. It has a complete other style which makes it more clear that Do Ho Suh wants to make clear that it fell out from the sky. My first impression about the underlying theme was that it was meant to come out of the building instead of it being crashed onto the building. This changes my idea about this artwork and its characteristics in such a way that I now find it even more interesting and it makes more sense to me. I think that Do Ho Suh did a good job reflecting cultural displacement by putting this in a non-matching environment. Also I think it is great how it is used as a space for students to gather in small groups to study together in such a peaceful place. This also relates back to the artist own life because he went to the United States of America while he did not know that culture and he was kind of displaced in that culture. Moreover, it represents how he makes such a peaceful home in which he could be himself. This gives a clear view of his artwork and this makes me respect this artist.