Jeff Koons [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Alison Gingeras (Author), Eckhard Schneider (Author), Jeff Koons (Author), Eckard Schneider (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The man who enshrined a hoover vacuume and a basketball, who created a life-sized polychromed wood replica of Michael Jackson and his pet chimp Bubbles, who transfered his sex life with Italian porn star wife Ilona Staller onto canvas, and who made a monumental topiary sculpture in the shape of a puppy, is back. After a seven-year hiatus from the public eye, bad boy Jeff Koons returns in this comprehensive and overdue survey of his work of the past five years. Three elaborate, highly-produced series are presented, including the joyously effusive "Celebration," an ambitious body of 16 photo-realist paintings and 20 stainless steel sculptures that draw upon the symbols and objects associated with the observance of life's festive rituals.
Essays by Eckard Schneider and Alison Gingeras.

9.5 x 11 in.
40 color illustrations
English/German

Language Notes
Text: English, German, French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 134 pages
• Publisher: Kunsthaus Bregenz; Bilingual edition (May 2, 2002)
• Language: German
• ISBN-10: 388375515X
• ISBN-13: 978-3883755151
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,295,255 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars overrated and not at all worth the price, July 2, 2009

By	Filmliebhaber "cloudwalker199" (Muenchen) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jeff Koons (Hardcover)

Taschen books - especially limited books - are usually worth every penny. But Koons is different. Made for speculation reasons only, this book is not bought for the content. Because there is nothing new about Koons in this book, that we don't know already. It would have been good enough to create a XL-book like Michelangelo, Leonardo or Rivera for round about 120 dollars. I was simply bored by this book and sold it very quickly - for twice the price that I paid for it. At least therefore it was a good deal.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Koons For the Masses?, June 16, 2009

By	Sacramento Book Review "SacramentoBookReview.com" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jeff Koons (Hardcover)

It takes a certain amount of egotism to call a $70.00 art book "for the poor," but when the subject artist is Jeff Koons, and the publisher Taschen, you can probably give them some leeway. The original edition was $4500, and a signed Art Edition for an eye-opening $15,000; so I guess at one two-hundred-and-fiftieth the price, this unlimited edition is for the "poor."

Koons is is both acclaimed and decried by art fans and collectors. He is often described as an artist of kitsch or the banal (or derivative of Duchamps), but the prices of his work keep skyrocketing. Here is a complete survey of his work, from a 43-foot-tall topiary sculpture of a dog (//Puppy//) to //Michael Jackson and Bubbles//, recently sold at auction for $5.6 million. There are basketballs floating in water, stainless steel blow-ups of toys and explicit pictures, paintings and sculptures of he and his porn star ex-wife Cicciolina engaged in sex acts. Throughout it all is commentary from art historian and critic Katy Siegel deconstructing the work and putting it in its place through the explosive growth of the contemporary art market in the 1980s and 90s.

For Taschen, //Koons// is an affordable work. At almost 600 pages of art, it is a massive book and beautifully produced. If you don't like Koons, his attitude or his work, you won't find anything here for you. But for collectors of contemporary art who didn't drop $4500 (or $15K) for a limited edition of the book, this $70 "popular" edition will let you enjoy the content, and not the pain of purchase.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive Koons, April 1, 2009

By	Jose Maria (Barcelona, Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jeff Koons (Hardcover)

Great book dealing with the entire corpus of Jeff Koons. Great quality of reproductions, enough information and contextualized Koons' profile.

Do you like Koons and do you enjoy with his provocation and "Duchampesque" style? Then get it.
I like Koons and I've got it. I'm as happy as his seals and puppies!!