Banality (sculpture series)
| Medium | Polychromed wood |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 215.9 cm × 109.2 cm × 94 cm (85 in × 43 in × 37 in) |
| Medium | Porcelain |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 49.5 cm × 160 cm × 80 cm (19.5 in × 63 in × 31.5 in) |
| Medium | Porcelain |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 106.7 cm × 179.1 cm × 82.6 cm (42 in × 70.5 in × 32.5 in) |
| Medium | Porcelain |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 104.1 cm × 52.1 cm × 48.3 cm (41 in × 20.5 in × 19 in) |
| Medium | Porcelain |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 142.2 cm × 73.7 cm × 43.2 cm (56 in × 29 in × 17 in) |
| Medium | Porcelain |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 106.7 cm × 157.5 cm × 94 cm (42 in × 62 in × 37 in) |
| Medium | Polychromed wood |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 96.5 cm × 157.5 cm × 76.2 cm (38 in × 62 in × 30 in) |
| Medium | Porcelain |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 96.5 cm × 100.3 cm × 59.7 cm (38 in × 39.5 in × 23.5 in) |
Banality is a series of sculptures by American artist Jeff Koons. The works were unveiled in 1988 and have become controversial for their use of copyrighted images. Several editions of the sculptures have sold at auction for millions of dollars.
The series consists of a number of large sculptures inspired by Hummel figurines and has been described as kitsch. They were designed to convey the emotion of "lying in the grass and taking a deep breath".
When it was first unveiled, the series was simultaneously on show at three different galleries - at the Sonnabend Gallery in New York City, at the Donald Young Gallery in Chicago and at the Galerie Max Hetzler in Cologne - possible because several editions of each sculpture were made. Koons promoted his works by taking out four advertisements in the major trade magazines. Each of the full-page features depicted different parts of Koons' reputed persona:
The advertisements were the first time that Koons was featured in his own work, exploiting the reputation that the media and his critics had propagated.
Several sculptures from the series have been adjudged to have broken copyright laws. Koons has defended his works on numerous occasions but the courts have repeatedly rejected his claims of fair use by parody.
Most of the sculptures are made of porcelain; three editions of each were produced in addition to the artist's proof. The most notable pieces are detailed below.
A smiling brown bear wearing a striped T-shirt has his arm around a shorter policeman who is looking up at the animal.
"The relatively diminutive constable, a symbol of authority, contrasts comically with the bear's monstrous size and relative harmlessness. Looking helplessly up at the bear, the expression on the policeman's face holds the key to enjoying Koons' work: a temporary suspension of adulthood, a return to seeing the world through a child's perspective. Koons seems to hint that the adult world, with its explicit content, greed and shame, is worth staving off."
Fait d'Hiver depicts a woman lying on her back in the snow. The upper torso and head of the woman are featured in the sculpture, her breasts exposed beneath a sparsely-knitted dress. A pig and two penguins stand near to her head, adding the kitsch element that is thematic throughout the collection. The catalogue colourfully described the work as a "Walt Disney version of an erotic fantasy ... juxtaposing a strong sexual element with the saccharine sweetness of decorative knicknacks". It went on to say that the "disturbing combination identifies a primal hunger at the heart of American consumerism".
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Wikipedia