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Tag Archives: Jeff Koons

PODCAST #4 – Brighton Vs. Jeff Koons

20 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by C J in Artists Rooms: Jeff Koons (2013), Blogger in Residence, Chris T-T

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Brighton Museum, Cara Courage, Chris T-T, Jeff Koons, podcast, Sam Hewitt, Shardcore

I brought in three luminaries of the local Sussex contemporary arts scene to have a look at the Jeff Koons exhibition in Brighton Museum and then argue about it. Jeff Koons has always divided opinion sharply in the art world, so it seemed likely there would be fireworks.

They were painter Sam Hewitt, painter and installation artist Shardcore and arts consultant and facilitator Cara Courage. All three have a pile of experience exhibiting and running projects locally – and they also know eachother well enough to have a good old argument.

You can subscribe to my podcast on iTunes HERE.

Or HERE is a link to this episode via my website.

I hope you like it.

Chris T-T, Blogger in Residence

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Koons, The Women Artists and Ana Maria Pacheco

27 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by C J in Artists Rooms: Jeff Koons (2013), Biba and Beyond, Blogger in Residence, Brighton Museum, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Celebrity, Collections, Exhibitions, Fine Art, Fine Art Galleries

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Ana Maria Pacheco, Gillian Ayres, Jeff Koons, Women in the Fine Art Collection

A surprising number of people – from friends, to working artists, to random people visiting Brighton Museum – mention that they’ve found an unexpected, low key connection between two exhibitions, so I think it’s worth passing on. Especially if you’ve not yet visited the Jeff Koons. This suggestion is not a formal, planned thing; certainly nothing to do with the Koons content itself, yet it seems to work.

After you’ve seen the Jeff Koons, straight away (before you go anywhere else) check out the Women Artists from the Fine Art Collection exhibition across the corridor. This is Gillian Ayres’ remarkable tondo (round painting) ‘Sappho’ from 1988, a recent gift to the museum from the Jean and Eric Cass collection.

photo 1-10

©Gillian Ayres. Courtesy Alan Cristea Gallery

There’s something powerful in immediately contrasting Koons’ trenchantly self-absorbed hyperbolic vision, with such exceptional work by a cross-section of under recognised artists, who are female. It’s the hyper-famous attempting to live up to itself, set against the unfamous outshining expectation (to my untrained eyes at least). And with some gender thrown in; especially considering Jeff Koons’ underlying misogyny (which, even though this Brighton Museum exhibition limits itself to his politer work, does poke through) and the extent to which gender itself limited the exposure of the Women Artists. The contrast throws both experiences into sharp relief and I think this juxtaposition is enriching beyond either individual show.

There’s probably a more complex, nuanced point about ‘subject’ and ‘object’ to be made by someone more capable of art criticism than me. Even after someone pointed it out, it took me three visits to remember to look at both in one go. So I hope at least one expert or local public arts voice will spot these two exhibitions side-by-side and focus on the dichotomies therein.

Thinking back through the years, my single favourite ever exhibition in the upstairs gallery currently hosting the Jeff Koons actually dates back almost a decade to 2004, years before I got this chance to briefly act as an insider here. It was an astonishing walk through the quasi-primitive, intensely spiritual, larger-than-life human figures of Brazilian sculptor Ana Maria Pacheco, ‘Land Of No Return’.

I think the intimacy and three-rooms-in-a-row structure of that particular upstairs gallery perfectly suits stuff you’ll get enveloped in. It worked for the thousands of BIBA fans because they didn’t just ‘look’, they lost themselves in the stories of the work, especially as that exhibition was so stunningly well curated and labelled.

Years ago, I walked through the remarkably brief Ana Maria Pacheco exhibition and forgot everything else in the world while I was in there.

Chris T-T, Blogger in Residence

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A final note from the JK collective

01 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by Royal Pavilion & Brighton Museums in Artists Rooms: Jeff Koons (2013), Authors, Brighton Museum, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Exhibitions, Guest Author, Learning, Temporary exhibitions, Young People

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Brighton Museum, Jeff Koons, Jeff Koons collective, Young People

I didn’t realise that a place could come to mean so much to me. When the Jeff Koon’s project started in February it was just a building filled with fascinating objects and art works, but now Brighton Museum & Art Gallery is like another home, and the JK Collective another family.

            There was so much crammed into five short months; from researching the work in great detail to doing dances in outfits inspired by it. Things haven’t always worked out and there were a few bumps in the road, but overall it’s been an incredible experience. I’ve done things that I’d have never dreamed I’d be able to do – like making gummy bear sculptures and talking in front of a crowd of people.

            I’d just like to take a moment to say thank you to everyone at the museum and to the people from Artist Rooms for making this opportunity possible. Thank you for your support and for helping to turn our crazy ideas into a reality like a conga line into the gallery! Thank you for all the hard work that you do.

Peter Pan once said; “Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away, and going away means forgetting,” So, I will only say farewell as although this is the end of this project, I’ll take forward the new skills I’ve learnt and put them to good use. Whatever happens, I’ve got good memories and new friends that I will never forget.

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— Charlie, Member of the Jeff Koons Collective

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