Kiepenkerl jeff koons biography

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Kiepenkerl

Sculptures by Albert Mazzotti Jr and Jeff Koons

Kiepenkerl – 1953 statue
Artist	Albert Mazzotti Jr (re-creating the destroyed 1896 original by August Schmiemann)
Year	1953
Type	Bronze
Dimensions	175 cm (69 in)
Location	Kiepenkerl Square, Münster, Germany
Owner	City of Münster

Kiepenkerl was originally a sandstone statue of a travelling merchant created by August Schmiemann in Münster, Germany, in 1896. Destroyed in World War II, it was re-created in cast metal by Albert Mazzotti Jr in 1953. The statue now stands in a small square in the Old Quarter of Münster. In 1987 American sculptor Jeff Koons created a replica of the design in polished cast stainless steel.

1896 statue

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The original statue, like its successors, depicted a Kiepenkerl [de] (literally "pannier guy": a travelling merchant or pedlar [US: peddler]) with a carrying basket, whistle, knot stick and linen smock. It was carved from Baumberger sandstone by August Schmiemann and was inaugurated in Münster on 16 October 1896. The statue was destroyed by a US tank in World War II.^[1]

1953 statue

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A competition for a new statue was held immediately after the war ended. However, the new designs were vetoed by the m

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Summary of Jeff Koons

Deriving inspiration from everyday items including children's toys, cartoon characters, porcelain figurines, and party decorations, Koons' appropriates advertising campaigns and consumer goods alike. In doing so, he initiates a dialogue about the role of material objects in our lives and the consumerism of society as a whole. Many of his pieces look cheap, but are expensive, an ingenious reversal of economic logic that forms the basis for his commercial success. Rather than offending the art snob, Koons has challenged top collectors to revise their notions of what is fine art. This marketing strategy has been very successful, and his work garners some of the highest prices of any living artist. A significant departure from the modernist ideal of the misunderstood visionary, Koons is the anti-modernist, a shrewd, self-proclaimed crowd-pleaser, and avid promoter of his own work. This has made him a very divisive figure in the art world and he has drawn criticism for the kitsch, crude nature of his art, and the objectification of women in many of his pieces.

Accomplishments

In the 1980s, Koons' engagement with popular objects attracted those who felt excluded by art world elitism making him an accessible and powerful cultural figure. Despite his consum

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ARTWORKS

Rabbit, 1986
Stainless steel
104.1 x 48.3 x 30.5 cm
Edition no. 1/3
Museum of Concomitant Art Chicago; partial function of Stefan T. Edlis and H. Gael Neeson, 2000.21
© Jeff Koons

INFLATABLES

Inflatable Floweret and Rabbit (Tall Milky, Pink Bunny), 1979
Group, mirrors
81.3 x 63.5 x 48.3 cm
Interpretation Broad Choke Foundation, Santa Monica
© Jeff Koons

PRE-NEW

Teapot, 1979
Teapot, accommodating tubes, fluorescent lights
66 x 22.9 x 30.5 cm
“The Sonnabend” Sonnabend Collection, Nina Sundell wallet Antonio Homem
© Jeff Koons

LUXURY Tube DEGRADATION

EQUILIBRIUM

One Urgent Equilibrium Boiler (Spalding Dr. JK 241 Series), 1985
Glass, blade, sodium antidote reagent, distilled water, facial appearance basketball
164.5 × 78.1 × 33.7 cm
Way no. 1/2
Private Collection
© Jeff Koons

KIEPENKERL

STATUARY

Louis XIV, 1986
Untarnished steel
116.8 × 68.6 × 38.1 cm
Demonstration no. 3/3
Raymond accept Patsy Nasher Collection.
Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas
© Jeff Koons

POPEYE

Lobster, 2003
Polychromed al, coa