Jeff Koons is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror-finish surfaces. He lives and works in both New York City and his hometown of York, Pennsylvania. Some critics view his work as pioneering and of major art-historical importance, while others dismiss his work as kitsch: crass and based on cynical self-merchandising. Koons has stated that there are no hidden meanings in his works, nor any critiques. In 2013, Koons’s Balloon Dog (Orange) sold for $58.4 million, becoming the most expensive work by a living artist sold at auction. Koons was born on January 21, 1955.
Note: It seemed fitting to model 8-bit Koons after his famous stainless steel Rabbit (1986), now owned by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. A balloon replica of Rabbit (which itself was an enlarged cast of an inflatable plastic toy) floated through Times Square during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 22, 2007.
