The analysis of Jeff Koons' puppies drew on the visual language of advertising, marketing and the entertainment industry with the intent to "communicate with the masses." Koons tested the boundaries between popular and elite culture, creating the 43-foot-tall West Highland terrier, Puppy. Koons used computer modeling to build his stunning version of topiary sculptures common in 18th-century formal gardens. Puppy was created from a series of stainless steel rebars built to support over 25 tons of soil irrigated by an internal irrigation system. Unlike many works of art, Puppy was not permanent and was installed in several locations around the world, including Australia, Germany and the United States. From today Puppy is permanently installed in Spain. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The puppy is made up of a variety of flowers, and new flowers were planted every time the sculpture was reinstalled in a new location. Koon's choice to use flowers in his sculpture was a conscious decision and ultimately forms its meaning. The material an artist uses has a lasting effect on the art, from the moment of the creative process to the impact it has on the viewer. The interpretation by the viewer is personal, but the material contributes a lot to the meaning proposed by the artist. Specifically, according to Koon's work, Puppy is made of flowers to spread optimism, confidence and security with the liveliness and happiness it brings. Koon combined the most sentimental images and visual symbols – flowers and puppies – to evoke a specific emotion in his viewers. He combined elite references to the topiary and dog breeding of his previous works, with chia pets and distinctive greeting cards used in popular culture today. If this sculpture were made of bronze, marble or steel, its meaning would change completely. Puppy was created to communicate with mass culture, showing the cute, familiar face of a dog and adding liveliness and happiness. The flowers give the puppy a pleasant aura and a calming, safe presence to be with. The flowers also give the sculpture a living element, just like a real dog, which requires care and nourishment to stay alive. A material like bronze, marble or steel are not as warm or comforting as flowers are, and the message Koons created would not have been conveyed. If Puppy were made from one of these materials, it could still bring happiness when viewers determine that it is still a dog, focusing on the cute face that brings confidence. Just like Puppy and most works of art, the meaning of Roxy Paine's Conjoined (Getlein 248) depends on the materials used to create it. Paine's artwork combines the organic and the manufactured, questioning our position between the man-made world we control and the natural world we do not control. Paine created a 40-foot-tall sculpture of two conjoined trees, their branches connecting in mid-air. The sculpture is made of stainless steel and concrete, symbolizing what humans can control through manufacturing and what we cannot control by nature. If the materials of this work were to change, the meaning would also change. For example, if the sculpture had been created with real tree bark or flowers like Puppy, the message behind the man's work would no longer be there. Unlike Puppy and Conjoined, the meaning of Reconstructed.
tags