1 Jeff Koons's collection for Vuitton features five works of art by five masters: The Tiger Hunt by Rubens, Girl with Dog by Fragonard, Mars, Venus and Cupid by Titian, A Wheatfield, with Cypresses by Vincent van Gogh and Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci (pictured). Only the Van Gogh and Da Vinci pieces will be available in the Middle East, as the others are too risqué.
They are based on a previous project by Koons, the Gazing Ball series, for which his studio faithfully recreated works by other artists then placed polished metal balls in front of them to reflect the viewer into the paintings.
This project likewise reproduces paintings by the masters, accurately copied down to the cracks in the glaze.
2 Jeff Koons is one of the most widely recognised contemporary artists. Born in 1955 and based in New York, he is best known for artwork depicting everyday items.
In 1988 he gained notoriety for his kitsch gold sculpture Michael Jackson and Bubbles. In 1992, he created Puppy, a 40-foot-tall West Highland terrier, made of flowers. Remade several times, it is now on permanent display at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.
His 1986 work Rabbit was the first of a series of shiny stainless steel animals. One of them, Balloon Dog (Orange), sold in 2013 for US$58.4 million (Dh214 million), at Christie's New York, making it the most expensive artwork by a living artist.
3 Keen that the inside of the Vuitton bags should be as good as the outside, Koons used it as a place of explanation. In embossed silver letters on one surface inside is a biography of the artist, explaining who he is and what he set out to create with this bag. There is also a key fob-style rabbit, a miniature version of Koons's 1986 work.
On the opposite interior surface is a history of the artist whose work is depicted on the bag. The Mona Lisa bag, for example, tells the story of Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci and includes a small version of Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk. Widely believed to be a self-portrait, it is thought to date from about 1519, when Leonardo was about 60 years old.
4 The name of the master artist's name appears in gleaming metal letters on the surface of the bag. As well as explaining who it is, this also references Koons's Gazing Ball series. The large lettering mimics the effect of the ball by reflecting the viewer, making them part of the artwork. Koons also took the famous Vuitton monogram, made it from highly-polished metal and inlaid it in the canvas.
In addition to Vuitton’s initial, Koons included his own, so that both sets become part of the decoration. Standing slightly proud of the surface, they become vaguely floral in shape, adding a softer, more feminine feel to the artwork.
5 Koons chose every element of the collection, and decided to stitch his signature across the Masters images on the scarves, both as declaration of ownership (they were recreated in his studio, after all) and as calligraphy. The looping curls of his signature on the image also feels urban, echoing the act of tagging in graffiti. As for the colour combinations, these too were selected by Koons, who favours bold tones.
The construction of the pieces is pure Vuitton know-how, with seams hand-finished to ensure perfection and the silver lettering that adorns the interior is hand-stamped.
The project presented technical difficulties. To capture every detail of the surface of the paintings, the canvas had to be printed on up to 60 times.
smaisey@thenational.ae
