Jeff Koons on Balloon Dog

Notes from video:

Balloon Dog part of the celebration series, started in 1994 - wanted to make a body of work that was about archetype
When making Balloon Dog, he wanted to make a piece that reflected the joy of celebrating a birthday/party
Bought a pack of balloons and just started twisting, to get comfortable with the medium
Each Balloon Dog is unique to show the spectrum and to communicate to people that every colour is perfect
Always worked with inflatables
Enjoys things that involve air because they're a symbol of us, we are breathing machines/inflatables, inhale = a symbol of optimism, exhale = symbol of death (we deflate)
Balloon Dog is eternally optimistic, in a position to stand up to time, it's materialism and it's monumentality
It's a trojan horse - interior is thought of as empty but the Balloon Dog has the aspect of being able to parallel life's energy - having a dialogue with interior life and exterior light
Celebrates the environments it's placed in
Art does not happen inside objects, it happens inside the viewer

balloon dog.jpg

Balloon Dog by Jeff Koons

'I never want to lose the trust of the viewer…I want the viewer to be able to stay lost in the abstraction of experiencing a work for as long as possible'

In your owns words, describe how the form of the objects can be said to be 'archetypal'.

Balloon animals have always been associated with birthday parties and fun fairs, children will ask someone commonly dressed like a clown to craft various animals for them. The shine of colourful inflated rubber is recognised worldwide, and the animals they are modelled after, are as Koons said, symbols of joy.

How does the designer/artist use materials, visual style and finish to communicate to an audience?

Koons first started out with a pack of balloons that he played around with and twisted until he was comfortable with using the medium. This is clearly evident in his abilities to portray a material as tough as steel, as something that looked just as light and airy as a real balloon. As Koons mentioned, the Balloon Dog was eternal optimism and this is emphasised through the gloss of the brightly coloured steel, and almost being able to hear the sound of rubber squeaking as it rubs against itself.

How do scale and location tell a story?

Koons' Balloon Dogs have been placed in a number of locations across the world, e.g. Venice canal, Palace of Versailles, etc. and each sculpture tells a different story. Koons' aim was to celebrate each environment it's placed in and he's effectively done that with each location complimenting a different coloured Balloon Dog. For example, the Palace of Versailles creates a sense of regality and already creates a narrative that the viewer could play out in their mind. As for the scale, it can be agreed that if such object was modelled in 1:1 scale, it would have nowhere near the same impact it does when it's in such a large scale. At its current scale, the viewer can watch in awe as though it looks like a grand monument of great importance.

Personal Thoughts

I definitely could see the joy that is being conveyed through this piece and it is something I want to adopt into my own work. I think it's important to communicate a feeling through your work and I'd like viewers to look at my work and smile as though they can picture the scene in front of them and can imagine what it's like to interact with such a huge scale object.

Research

Confirm copying