Posted Sep 28, 2022, 12:06 PMUpdated on Sep 28, 2022 at 12:07
On the island of Hydra in Greece, this small car-free territory where the donkeys continue to carry the heaviest loads, frequently stays one of the most famous collectors in Greece, Dakis Joannou. Until the end of October, there is also, as every year, a work commissioned by the same Dakis, located on the outskirts of the village, by the sea, in a sober stone building which is the old slaughterhouse. The vernissage held in June attracts the international fauna of contemporary art.
In 2022, Jeff Koons landed in Hydra with his unalterable ambition to install in the former slaughterhouse a small masterpiece which he named “Apollo”. On social networks, the image of this installation that has circulated the most is a giant golden metal sun that sits on the roof of the stone house. It is a 9.1 meter high windmill. But the most remarkable thing is inside.
Total work of art
By way of welcome, a rustic wooden table has been placed in front of the door on which there are, among other things, an upside-down pissotière and a bicycle wheel which are, of course, a nod to Marcel Duchamp and his famous ready-to-wear. mades, ready-made objects, proclaimed works of art by the artist.
A pretty boy, dressed in a toga, is waiting for you at the entrance. It is the guardian of this total work of art. As in a film, the staging is accompanied by pop zither music. “I want to engage all the senses” explains Jeff Koons.
The artist had the sumptuous frescoes and mosaics of Boscoreale in Pompeii, presented in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, copied. They cover the walls from floor to ceiling. Within these he implanted a molding which he completed and painted in polychromy, that of a Greek statue from the British Museum, representing an Apollo with a zither. Because originally the ancient statues were painted in colors.
And as the artist is facetious, the snake that accompanies the god of the arts is animated electronically. On the wall hangs a pair of sneakers signed Nike, god of victory in Greek mythology. Contrary to their appearance, sports shoes are made of bronze.
Archaeological fiction
Some morals are also written in Greek in the decoration as “Nothing to excess” Where ” Know thyself “. On the balcony of the stone house which directly overlooks the sea, the artist has posted one of his famous “Gasing Ball” oversized: a reflective ball of metal, originally a repellant object to scare away birds in American gardens.
“Koons: Apollo” is a kind of 21st century archaeological fiction. The transformation of a place of animal death into a temple of beauty. However, it will be destroyed after October 31, except perhaps the giant windmill, which could become the symbol of the island. Dakis Joannou justifies the disappearance of the sumptuous frescoes and mosaics by explaining that the permanent works do not attract the public.
Jeff Koons could have displayed another moral in his sumptuous ephemeral decor: “Vanity, everything is vanity”.
“Slaughter house” in Greece, in Hydra. Until October 31. https://deste.gr/hydra/jeff-koons/
