Critical Archive of the Visual and Related Arts
Jeff Koons
American; 20th-century, 21st-century
Omaha, NE: Joslyn Art Museum
78%
Gazing Ball (Goya The Forge). 2015-2017. Oil on canvas, glass, and aluminum
Rather cheeky! Instead of looking at a painting by a master we are looking at a distorted vision of ourselves. What are we doing, really, by going to museums and looking at pictures? Things I’ve seen in the Joslyn: influencers getting ready for photo shoots, awkward guys trying to be serious and sincere in front of girls. Is the whole museum/highbrow-culture apparatus just a backdrop for our feigned and performative good taste? How good we look, imbibing Great Art! I also overheard a mother and child, after examining the ball, comment on how “cool” it looked... without even acknowledging the Goya. I tried as hard as I could to find out whether the Goya is a painted reproduction or a print; short of committing the cardinal sin and touching the surface of the work, I couldn’t do it. One interesting detail: the metal slab on which the gazing ball is placed is painted to match the colors on the canvas next to it. Koons is very discreetly and subtly holding up the mirror. (WC, 2025)