Jeff Koons has a fascination with a sense of perfection and the ideal. "One ball total equilibrium tank" has just that. It is a basketball in a sealed glass tank containing distilled water and sodium chloride. The tank sits on a metal stand. The balance between the weight of the ball and the density of the salt solution in the tank allows the ball to stay in the exact center. Koons had to consult several physicists before he found the solution that would create the perfect balance and allow equilibrium. It is not permanent but it is sustained for a period of time. Perfection is impossible but at some times there is equilibrium where everything is in balance. Koons took Duchamp's ready-mades to another level. He made the everyday object unattainable.
"One ball total equilibrium tank" can be related to Carl Andre's "Equivalents I-VIII". Andre's piece includes eight sculptures that are each made of 120 bricks. Each sculpture has two layers consisting of 60 bricks each. The sculptures are shaped differently but are equivalent numerically and volumetrically. He used different factorial combinations which determined their shape. It is similar to Koons' artwork because they both have equality. In Koons' the weight is equal and in Andre's the bricks and the volume is equal.
The artwork relates to people because it is hard to keep ones own equilibrium. One thing Jeff Koons often does in his artwork is he makes it so that the viewer can relate it to their life and get involved with the art. I can relate to it because it is hard for me to balance school and family. At some times school requires more of my attention and it upsets the balance with my family just like the ball does not always stay in the center. The artwork strives for perfection just as people do in life. I like how the artwork allows people to think about their life and may give them the realization that their life is out of balance. It allows people to pause and reflect.
Bibliography
Archer, Michael. Art Since 1960. 2nd. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1994. 55-56. Print.
Archer, Michael. Art Since 1960. 2nd. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1994. 166-69. Print.
Manchester, Elizabeth. "Three ball total equilibrium tank." Collection Tate. Oct. 2004. Web. 23 Nov 2009. http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=21383&tabview=text&texttype=10
Ottmann, Klaus. "Jeff Koons." Journal of Contemporary Art Oct. 1986: n. pag. Web. 23 Nov 2009. http://www.jca-online.com/koons.html
"The Eleanor D. Wilson Museum." Hollins University. 2008. Web. 23 Nov 2009. http://www.hollins.edu/news-events/museum/past_exhibitions/2008/2008.htm
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