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.
Series details
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: A propagator of the banal: Koons is shown alongside two pigs - published in Flash Art A bad influence on future generations: he is in a classroom full of children, a blackboard contains the slogans "Exploit the Masses" and "Banality as Savior" - published in Artforum A gigolo: he is standing in front of a boudoir-style tent - published in Flash Art A ladies man: he is with a Shetland pony and several women in bikinis - published in Arts Magazine and Art in America
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.
Controversy
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.
Constituent sculptures
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.
Bear and Policeman
A smiling brown bear wearing a striped T-shirt has his arm around a shorter policeman who is looking up at the animal.
Fait d'Hiver
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".
Koons based the design of the woman on a photograph of porn actress Ilona Staller that featured in Stern. He had not met Staller at the time but went on to have a very public relationship with her, using her as a muse for many subsequent works.
In November 2001 an edition of the sculpture was auctioned by Phillips de Pury & Company with an estimate of up to US$2.5 million but it failed to sell. Several years later, on November 13, 2007, Christie's auctioned the artist's proof with a final sale price of US$4.3 million. In 2018 a French court found that Koons' sculpture had plagiarised a 1985 advertisement for , a women's clothing retailer. Damages and costs were awarded against Koons but the sculpture was not seized.
Michael Jackson and Bubbles
In 1988, Jeff Koons made three identical porcelain sculptures of Bubbles and Jackson. At the time, each sculpture was said to be worth $250,000. Koons once said of the pop star, "If I could be one other living person, it would probably be Michael Jackson." The art piece went on to become one of Koons' best known works. The figure shows Jackson and the chimpanzee wearing gold military-style suits. In 2001, one of the figures was put up for auction and was expected to fetch between $3 million and $4 million. The figure sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for $5.6 million. The sale was a record for a work by Koons.