Jeff Koons and "Kitsch Movement"

On Wednesday 7^TH of December, I started to obtain artists research and inspiration for the live brief project “Mother and Child” which has been inspired by the development of my theme and previous mood boards within the workshop and independent study. Artist research obtained reflects the theme of my project “seaside” and “fairground” which are important areas of my childhood and reinforce the live brief title and primary research collected for the task “Mother and Child”. Also, the artist research that I have gained reflect on the style and theme of my primary research as it emphasises the main areas I believe are most inspiring. For the focus of my theme I have identified an area which I believe reflects my theme and relates back to my idea for the project which is the seaside town called “Blackpool”. Throughout my childhood, I have visited this resort with my mother and grown up around the seaside whilst visiting family. This is also reflected through my family history as i have collected photographs of my grandparents and great-grandparents visiting the seaside. Around the seaside resort are a wide display of signs, lights and promotions which reflects attractions you can visit and buy. This includes fun fairs, amusements, food and games. The theme can be interpreted and linked to the movement of “Kitsch” which was the main influence and starting point of collecting artist research and inspiration.  The workshop allowed me to use analysis to develop research activity. Also, the task allowed me to interpret research activity to develop ideas and creative proposals for the chosen project and theme. Finally, the task allowed me to select appropriate materials and processes to develop creative solutions for the chosen artist research activity.

Kitsch movement can be described as “art, objects, and designs which can be considered as poor taste but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way”.

To start the task and gain research, I used my Pinterest board and placed the keywords “Kitsch Artist” to discover new artist and movements I have not previously discovered before. Before I started the task, I struggled with collecting research as I unsure about artists within the movement as I didn’t feel confidence and not explored this area before within the course. However, “Pinterest” was inspiring as it allowed me to discover artists within the movement which relates back to my project theme and development. A variety of Artwork and sculptures appeared within my results which came from the artist Jeff Koon’s. After researching further about the artist I discovered that he had a leading role within the “Kitsch Movement” and created a variety of balloon figures and sculptures. This research was useful as these sculptures relate to my theme of “fairground” as they can be seen within the topic and also relates back to my primary research collected previously. Also, the research was useful as it allowed me to relate my artist research to my main topic and area “Blackpool”. After discovering Jeff Koon’s, I visited the library to gain further information and books about his work. Whist looking through the books, I discovered that the artists has also created a series of oil paints which related back to “theme parks” and “characters”. This gave me the confidence to create my artist board from the research provided through “Pinterest” and library books collected. For the background of my board, I decided to keep it simple as I wanted to emphasise the paintings and drawings of each sculpture and pieces I am studying. I decided to focus with creating Jeff Koons “dog balloon” which involved using paints to capture the bold colours and depth detail and shadows within the piece. Before I started the task, I felt less confident as the material is one of my weak areas within art. However, I continued to use them as I wanted to develop my confidence and skill of using the material effectively. The outcome was effective and to finish the piece I used PVA glue to create the shine presentation on display within the book and sculpture. The outcome is presented below.

Jeff Koons Dog Balloon

Next, I am going to complete further drawings and paintings from the artist Jeff Koons and develop my research further to discover “Kitsch Movement” artists.