What Goes Up Must Stand Still: Six Life Size Pieces of Balloon Art

What Goes Up Must Stand Still: Six Life Size Pieces of Balloon Art

Whatever the reasoning behind the mastermind, each artist will have his or her own inspiration for their creations. Often times, art will not be accepted by the masses for a unknown reasons but, sometimes it’s a gratifying experience when the artist is able to shake someones personal beliefs to the core. At least, it is for the Artist!

Jeff Koon’s artistic range and abilities give new life to otherwise ordinary everyday things. His life size balloon art is often protested and looked down upon by the artistic community for the sole reason that he is only catering to the super rich because of its extravagance and costly nature.

Whatever the reasoning behind the mastermind, each artist will have his or her own inspiration for their creations.



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Jeff Koon’s was originally born in York, Pennsylvania in 1955. Jeff studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Red Balloon Flower

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Jeff has received quite a bit of flack for exploiting some of Warhol’s pieces, particularly the soup cans. His work Balloon Dog was constructed to appear as a dog made out of twisted balloons, much like a party clown would produce at a festive kid’s party. The piece stands 10 feet tall and is made of metal which is painted red to appear more lifelike.

Jeff Koon’s Big Rock

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Mark Stevens of The New Republic , has been documented as stating that Jeff Koon’s is a “decadent artist [who] lacks the imaginative will to do more than trivialize and italicize his themes and the tradition in which he works… He is another of those who serve the tacky rich.”

Blue Diamond at Christies-Sold for 11.8 Million

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Regardless of the constant outcry of insults from his fellow artists, Jeff still remains to exhibit and share his art all over the world. Koon’s has lectured about his pieces at some of the most prestigious Universities and Colleges around the globe including Harvard, Yale, and Columbia.

Jeff Koon’s Tulips

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Jeff has sculptures located at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum of American Art in New York, the Guggenheim Museum, The National Gallery D, Hirshhorn Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Eli Broad Family Foundation in California, the Tate Gallery in London, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Museum Ludwig in Germany, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum.

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Koons received acknowledgment by his peers in 2005 when he was elected as a beneficiary to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

” There’s a difference between being famous and being significant. I’m interested in [my work's] significance – anything that can enrich our lives and make them vaster – but I’m really not interested in the idea of fame for fame’s sake. “

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20 Comments

BC Doan, posted this comment on Oct 18th, 2008

Great piece as usual Lauren! Interesting to know..

valli, posted this comment on Oct 18th, 2008

Beautiful art.

CHAN LEE PENG, posted this comment on Oct 18th, 2008

Great article as usual! Take care!

Paula Mitchell-Bentley, posted this comment on Oct 18th, 2008

Unique and beautiful! Great piece.

papaleng, posted this comment on Oct 18th, 2008

a simple subject matter that you injected with magnificent photos. you did it again, friend.

Winged Lead, posted this comment on Oct 18th, 2008

It is a startling piece of work. A very good job ,Lauren.

RJ Evans, posted this comment on Oct 18th, 2008

Excellent work – and what wonderful pieces of art!

Hein Marais, posted this comment on Oct 18th, 2008

Wonderful Artwork

Liane Schmidt, posted this comment on Oct 18th, 2008

WOW, WOW, WOW – - wonderful article!

Blessings.

Sincerely,

-Liane Schmidt.

abbic1219, posted this comment on Oct 18th, 2008

very fantastic article….loved it,nice pics too!

nobert soloria bermosa, posted this comment on Oct 18th, 2008

awesome,love this,

Darlene McFarlane, posted this comment on Oct 18th, 2008

Beautiful and very interesting. I really liked the tulips.

Juancav, posted this comment on Oct 18th, 2008

Beautiful works of art, where there is one becomes a showcase.

Glynis Smy, posted this comment on Oct 19th, 2008

Interesting article, clever artist.

Melody Arcamo Lagrimas, posted this comment on Oct 19th, 2008

Wow! They all look fantastic.

eddiego65, posted this comment on Oct 19th, 2008

Amazing balloon art.

Kiefer, posted this comment on Oct 19th, 2008

For the Blue Diamond one, was it the actual balloon that was sold for 11 million or was it a diamond it was representing?

Lauren Axelrod, posted this comment on Oct 19th, 2008

As far as what I researched it was the the diamond. Thanks for the comments everyone. This was an interesting find.

C. Jordan, posted this comment on Oct 21st, 2008

Well put together

jo oliver, posted this comment on Oct 31st, 2008

Never seen such before. Great find. Of course, you presented it perfectly.

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