JEFF KOONS KIDS ACTIVITY GUIDE

JEFF KOONS KIDS ACTIVITY GUIDE

WELCOME Welcome to the Whitney Museum of American Art and to Jeff Koons: A Retrospective. This family guide is designed to introduce you to Jeff Koons and his art and to highlight works that kids might like best. When we asked Koons what he d want to share with you, he said: I would really like to try to communicate that art and the way people create art is nothing magical. It s not that some people can do it and other people can t do it. It doesn t work that way. What art is really about is accepting who you are and focusing on your interests. If you follow your own interests, it can take you to a very magical place. Koons invites you to join us on a journey through his wondrous world. You and your family can use this guide to learn more about the ideas and inspirations behind his work. Please note that a number of the works on the third floor of this exhibition feature sexually explicit content.

LOBBY CONSIDER This Koons sculpture is based on a Roman sculpture called the Farnese Hercules, depicting the mythological hero Hercules, a son of Zeus who was famous for his strength. Throughout history, artists have made copies of it to learn about classical sculpture. Artists often learn from the works of other artists. Jeff Koons s artist heroes are Édouard Manet (1832 1883), Pablo Picasso (1881 1973), Marcel Duchamp (1887 1968), Salvador Dalí (1904 1989), and Andy Warhol (1928 1987). Who is your favorite artist? Koons created his version of the Farnese Hercules in plaster and added a modern touch a gazing ball, which is a glass sphere that he would often see on people s front lawns as a child. Imagine how different this sculpture would look without the gazing ball. Gazing Ball (Farnese Hercules), 2013

SCULPTURE COURT POSE Do you recognize Popeye? He is the memorable cartoon character who ate spinach when he wanted to become really strong (notice how Koons has replaced Popeye s can of spinach with real live flowers!). Koons says, Art is our spinach. Art can bring about transcendence and empowerment. Talk with your family about this quote. Has art ever made you see or feel things differently? Can art transform us? Take a look at how Popeye is posing. Strike your own pose. What do you want to show people? Ask your family to describe your pose. Take turns and have them pose too! Popeye, 2009 12

FLOOR 2 QUESTION To make these sculptures, Koons bought brand-new vacuum cleaners and placed them in display cases. At the time, he was studying Marcel Duchamp s work. Duchamp (1887 1968) was the artist who invented the idea of the readymade: he selected everyday objects, gave them titles and signed them, and declared that they were now art. Koons decided that these gleaming, shining, and tough vacuum cleaners could be art. Who decides that vacuum cleaners can be art? What do you think? New Hoover Convertibles Green, Blue, New Hoover Convertibles Green, Blue Doubledecker, 1981 87

FLOOR 2 DRAW Why do you think Koons chose to display a basketball this way? If you could select an object to put on display like this, what would it be? What does your object say about you or the time we live in? One Ball Total Equilibrium Tank (Spalding Dr. J 241 Series), 1985 What does equilibrium mean? What do you notice about this basketball? Is this how balls usually act in water? Koons wanted the basketball to float, in a state of equilibrium, in the middle of a tank of water. He worked with scientists to figure out a way to make the basketball hover exactly in the middle of the tank. The tank was filled with distilled water and then salt was added to the water in order to make the ball float.

FLOOR 3 REFLECT Koons says he wants to communicate to viewers that he cares about them: When you re reflected in my surfaces, it s about affirmation... It s about you It s about your experience. What do you see reflected in the rabbit? Draw it here! Rabbit, 1986 Check out the shiny metal rabbit! This is made from stainless steel, a material used to make pots and pans. Koons transformed a soft inflatable vinyl toy into a hard, long-lasting sculpture through a process called casting, in which a liquid material is poured into a mold and then allowed to solidify. Look closely and you ll see every curve, crease, and crinkle from the original blow-up bunny.

FLOOR 3 CHAT Look closely at this sculpture and think about what the bear and the policeman might be saying to each other. Write it down! Check out the giant bear and policeman! They look more like the cheap toys that you could find in a gift shop for tourists than something you might expect to see in an art museum. However, Koons worked with expert craftsmen who used traditional art-making techniques to create these in wood. Koons believes that all kinds of objects can be fun to look at, not just the stuff we usually call art. Bear and Policeman, 1988

FLOOR 4 REMEMBER To make this painting, Koons set up a farm scene in his studio using popcorn, toys, and animals. He took a photograph of it and scanned that into the computer, creating a collage of images. His team transferred the picture from the computer onto the canvas and painted it, all by hand. Koons grew up in York, Pennsylvania. When he was young, his grandparents had a big farm with cornfields, pastures, barns, and a forest. The artist now owns that farm and takes his own family there often! Do you recognize any of the toys in this painting? What are your favorite toys? If you were going to make a painting so you could remember those toys, what would you include? Shelter, 1996 98

FLOOR 4 DRAW What is your favorite animal? Make a drawing of it. Now transform it into a balloon animal. Try to draw it using just oval shapes. Balloon Dog (Yellow), 1994 2000 Woof! Have you ever gotten a balloon dog at a birthday party or fair? Was it this big? Koons transformed a regular-size balloon dog into a sculpture that is 10 feet tall and weighs over 2,500 pounds! Koons worked with a metal foundry in California to cast this work, which is composed of sixty separate parts. If you look closely, you can see where the balloon is knotted and twisted together.

FLOOR 4 NOTICE When Koons s son Ludwig was little, he gave him a gift of Play-Doh. Jeff remembers, Ludwig took out the Play-Doh and made a mound and said, Daddy! Voila! And I looked at it and thought, this is what I try to do every day to make something without judgment. That small pile of clay inspired Koons to make this huge aluminum sculpture. It is composed of twenty-seven different parts and took more than twenty years to create. He wants it to look exactly like real Play-Doh! Walk around this sculpture. What is the first thing you notice? Talk with your family about the scale of this artwork! Look closely at the material. How does it compare with real Play-Doh? Play-Doh, 1994 2014

FLOOR 4 COMPOSE Can you find a sculpture of the Incredible Hulk? The Hulk was once a regular guy named Bruce Banner. After an accident, whenever he became angry, Banner transformed into an incredibly strong superhero. Koons based this bronze sculpture on an inflatable vinyl toy of the Hulk. He added an organ that is so loud (louder than a jackhammer or helicopter!) that it can t be played in the galleries! Koons says, The reason for making a sound sculpture is to put people in contact with all their senses. Ask all the members of your family to come up with sounds they think this sculpture might make. Take turns making your sounds. Then conduct your own orchestra, asking everyone to sing their sound at different times. Hulk (Organ), 2004 14

COLOR Jeff Koons made these drawings for you to color at home.

SKETCH Artwork Captions Cover Jeff Koons, Shelter, 1996 98. Oil on canvas; 118 1/8 x 148 1/8 in. (300 x 376.2 cm). The Rachel and Jean-Pierre Lehmann Collection. Jeff Koons Lobby Gallery Jeff Koons, Gazing Ball (Farnese Hercules), 2013. Plaster and glass; 128 1/2 x 67 x 48 5/8 in. (326.4 x 170 x 123.5 cm). Amy and Vernon Faulconer and The Rachofsky Collection. Jeff Koons Sculpture Court Jeff Koons, Popeye, 2009 12. Granite and live flowering plants; 78 x 52 3/8 x 28 3/8 in. (198.1 x 132.9 x 72.1 cm). Bill Bell Collection. Jeff Koons Floor 2 Jeff Koons, New Hoover Convertibles Green, Blue, New Hoover Convertibles Green, Blue Doubledecker, 1981 87. Four vacuum cleaners, acrylic, and fluorescent lights; 116 x 41 x 28 in. (294.6 x 104.1 x 71.1 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from The Sondra and Charles Gilman, Jr., Foundation, Inc., and the Painting and Sculpture Committee 89.30a-v. Jeff Koons Jeff Koons, One Ball Total Equilibrium Tank (Spalding Dr. J 241 Series), 1985. Glass, steel, sodium chloride reagent, distilled water, and basketball; 64 3/4 x 30 3/4 x 13 1/4 in. (164.5 x 78.1 x 33.7 cm). Collection of B. Z. and Michael Schwartz. Jeff Koons Floor 3 Jeff Koons, Rabbit, 1986. Stainless steel; 41 x 19 x 12 in. (104.1 x 48.3 x 30.5 cm). Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; partial gift of Stefan T. Edlis and H. Gael Neeson, 2000.21. Jeff Koons Jeff Koons, Bear and Policeman, 1988. Polychromed wood; 85 x 43 x 37 in. (215.9 x 109.2 x 94 cm). Collection of Jeffrey Deitch. Jeff Koons Floor 4 Jeff Koons, Shelter, 1996 98. Oil on canvas; 118 1/8 x 148 1/8 in. (300 x 376.2 cm). The Rachel and Jean-Pierre Lehmann Collection. Jeff Koons Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog (Yellow), 1994 2000. Mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent color coating; 121 x 143 x 45 in. (307.3 x 363.2 x 114.3 cm). Private collection. Jeff Koons Jeff Koons, Play-Doh, 1994 2014. Polychromed aluminum; 120 x 108 x 108 in. (304.8 x 274.3 x 274.3 cm). Bill Bell Collection. Jeff Koons Sketch something you remember from your museum visit today. Jeff Koons, Hulk (Organ), 2004 14. Polychromed bronze and mixed media; 93 1/2 x 48 5/8 x 27 7/8 in. (237.5 x 123.5 x 70.8 cm). The Broad Art Foundation, Santa Monica. Jeff Koons

Join us for Family Programs focused on Jeff Koons: A Retrospective! We will be offering programs three Saturdays a month during the exhibition. Our interactive tours, art making workshops, and special events encourage kids and adults to learn about art together. Don t miss our Jeff Koons Family Opening on July 19, from 9:30 am to 12 pm and Family Day on September 27, from 9:30 am to 12 pm. We will be opening the Museum early just for families and will be offering art making workshops, gallery activities, and much more! For more information, visit whitney.org/families. Free Guided Student Visits for New York City Public and Charter Schools endowed by The Allen and Kelli Questrom Foundation. For more information, visit whitney.org/k12. Leadership support for this exhibition is provided by The exhibition is sponsored by Significant support is provided by Neil G. Bluhm; Steven A. and Alexandra M. Cohen Foundation, Inc.; Susan and John Hess; Cari and Michael J. Sacks; and the National Committee of the Whitney Museum of American Art. Major support is provided by Anne Cox Chambers, Nancy C. and A. Steven Crown, Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson, Lise and Michael Evans, Anne Dias Griffin and Kenneth Griffin, Dakis Joannou, Allison and Warren Kanders, Amy and John Phelan, Brett and Daniel Sundheim, and David Zwirner Gallery. Generous support is provided by The Broad Art Foundation; Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond Learsy; Wendy Fisher; Mr. and Mrs. J. Tomilson Hill; Antonio Homem, Sonnabend Gallery; Miyoung Lee and Neil Simpkins; Liz and Eric Lefkofsky; Linda and Harry Macklowe; the Mugrabi Collection; Brooke and Daniel Neidich; Almine Rech Gallery; David Teiger; and Fern and Lenard Tessler.

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