I recently visited the Broad museum on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles. The art piece that I intentionally went to see was Balloon Dog (Blue) by Jeff Koons. I chose this piece because of its unique creativity. It is an imposing sculpture and easily recognizable among the hundreds of the other pieces in the museum. Balloon Dog (Blue), as the name suggests, takes the form of balloons that have been twisted into the shape of a dog, like the popular children’s party entertainment. This gives it both literal and abstract meaning.
Seeing the sculpture taught me that normal objects around us can be manipulated to achieve different visual effects. The idea of a simple balloon shaped into different objects, is representative of the idea of using art to create different messages. Jeff Koons was one of the first artists to explore the meaning of art making provocative works that reflected the way our era is saturated by media. People question whether Koons’ work is art, or is it design or simply a joke, using common objects that do not intrinsically convey a message.
One thing I wonder now about the sculpture is what the artist really wanted to convey, other than simply showing a balloon shaped as a dog, crafted in steel. Does the representation of a balloon using polished steel with transparent color imply that fleeting, happy moments, like birthday parties or weddings, can be immortalized using steel? The artist probably said as much by choosing to represent fragile childhood memories in a large sculpture, thus sharing his feelings. The Balloon Dog represents innocence immortalized and perhaps that is all Koons wanted to say.