Jeff Koons: The 60 Minutes Interview

Controversial art world giant Jeff Koons works with teams of craftsmen to create his complex sculptures. His latest idea? He tells Anderson Cooper he plans to send artwork to the moon.
#news #60minutes #jeffkoons
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[@camerongasser4333]

He’s not an artist he’s a product designer.

[@leststoner]

Amen

[@tbd407]

so wrong

[@jameswarhol442]

Not products (that are functional) but more like Christmas tree decorations. Very, very expensive decorations.

[@RayNLA]

Which is art!

[@trancedrifter]

ppl who think this way have absolutely nothing in common with art. They have never experienced how hard it is to generate in your mind a simple but yet a timeless, person-less idea, you'll break your mind trying to imagine something worthy and visualize it, for a split of a second. That's all you actually need, just to see the work in your mind, you can scratch it in paint and it's already a masterpiece. Just a couple of words describing a worthy object is enough for it to be a sensation. Think you can do it? Millions try and fail, because it's very hard. And Koons did it, that's why his works are genial. Today AI can generate any artwork in hyper realistic detailing, 3d printers can carve whatever you like, but still no one is able to come up with a solid idea, a sentence describing the artwork. Idea is priceless, and it doesn't matter if Koons uses factory to create his works, his initial idea is the most valuable thing. And yes, we're not talking about some cringeworthy pretentious screaming binary-sensed paintings or sculptures, we all can tell difference between crap and diamond.

[@BD-lq4id]

I agree completely with Morley Safer on this one.

[@gregdahlen4375]

he makes you appreciate things like dollar stores

[@susieinthecountry4434]

that's not a bad thing

[@FigaroHey]

In the Renaissance, some of the greatest frescos we still have were drawn by the artist as the master of a workshop. The master would transfer the outline to the plaster, but since frescos have to be painted quickly, apprentices would fill in the paint in the large areas and the master would only come along and paint in the most difficult parts that required great skill. Koons's way of working is firmly rooted in the tradition of Western art.

[@Mimosux]

In the Renaissance Michelangelo also fired all of his assistants to paint the Sixtine Chapel alone because they couldn't translate his personal vision well enough. I think establishing a tradition of western art is not that easy.

[@mauricecarreno82]

One of the biggest scams in art's history

[@fetedesneiges6678]

Koons is a nerdy Andy Warhol. I don’t get what the big deal is, but he obviously has very rich fans.

[@leststoner]

Amen

[@spenserbower1178]

Lol I love how Anderson had to casually brag that he bought a Jeff Koons piece years ago.

[@_wesleyhome_]

Yeah his little, "Hey you do remember I'm a Vanderbilt, right?"

[@jinka6171]

@@_wesleyhome_Anderson would still be folding underwear at Dolce Gabanna in N. Y. Without his mommy…..

[@tthreepointo8267]

@@jinka6171 really ? , I think he’s pretty amazing regardless who is his mother is

[@ARIZJOE]

@@jinka6171 Layoffs at CNN and CBS say otherwise. Notice he has more than one job.

[@ARIZJOE]

Art is not only art, but as we know from recent auction sales, it's an investment. Anderson said that to avoid charges of conflict of interest, that is, promoting an artist to enhance the value of his piece.

[@jaynash6447]

Perfect Journalism. Balanced. Fair. Informative.

[@jameswarhol442]

More like ten minutes of lightweight fluff.

[@jaynash6447]

@@jameswarhol442 "Fluff" is moreso about presenting a neutral or negative item in a bright light. That didn't happen here. Any rational observer (who's unfamiliar with the man being interviewed) is given enough information to either think that he's an eccentric genius or that he's a talentless conman....or several shades in between. That sort of honest journalism isn't really done anymore. I distrust any speaker who doesn't give me both the warnings and wonders of a subject.

[@jameswarhol442]

@@jaynash6447 -My point is that any SERIOUS critical evaluation of someone like Koons can not be done in ten minutes.I actually like Koons' work. I just don't think its the most genius high minded stuff ever produced by a human being.

[@jaynash6447]

@@jameswarhol442 Those are all fair points that you just made!

[@bo2.4u6]

He's an artist and a plug 🔌 AKA financial Bank❤

[@CHR588]

His work has always been formulaic and after all these years it hasn’t changed

[@tbd407]

that's called having an artistic voice. Same way all Quentin Tarantino movies are the same.

[@CHR588]

@@tbd407 not necessarily true and that’s a poor comparison. Tarantino is amazing.

[@tbd407]

@Colin.Hart.Robinson Tarantino is about as deep as a puddle.

[@CHR588]

@@tbd407 and Jeff Koons is a Teletubby

[@briancass5124]

91 MOLLION?? BULLCRAP THATS MONEY LAUNDERING .

[@VINCI52]

In the past, the artist carved the statue by himself , Koons has machines and assistants create the work. I'm not impressed.

[@camerongasser3410]

Not in the slightest. Hardly an artist in my terms.

[@thecopper-cockmcdickinson8508]

In the past no master ever worked on his sculptures alone, but was aided by students and artisans employed by him (and in most cases let them all do the work manually while he gave them directions)

[@gibberishboner8776]

his art is all about commodity and branding like Supreme, Kardashian, etc. He might be one of the greatest brand maker of our generation but not a great visual artist.

[@weston.weston]

Great reporting, Anderson.

[@baberRuth]

Seen in Twitter that many believe Obama is Hitler's grandson. You're not one of them.🙏🤔👍

[@eustaquiozambrano2974]

Thank you so much for your spech Have a good time 👍

[@cedricmoore4218]

I love art and music as well

[@kamuelalee]

Morley knew...Morley knew.

[@posthocprior]

He’s an entrepreneur of art. That is, he’s found, through trial and error, what people consider art and the maximum price they’re willing to pay for it. This is very different from being an artist.

[@SteveXNYC]

Nonsense

[@midnightmilkman1]

☝️I guess "Art is really in the Eye of the beholder" lucky guy laughing all the way to the bank with his fun visual creations

[@tbd407]

clueless. this stuff takes him years and $$$ to make. if it was just for the bucks, he woulda stopped years ago

[@imalrockme]

@tbd407 Some artists know they'll have buyers and know they'll receive positive reviews. ( Not fortune telling, just their conections ).

[@slimnics]

he would play a great joker with that smile

[@sacdigitaldesignweb]

😂😂😂

[@pinkbomb4307]

does Jeff Koons really need more press? Surely more interesting and undiscovered things in the art world to report about?

[@popefrancis1629]

Jeff Koons is like an evangelical preacher.. except the religion is marketing and capitalism

[@ARIZJOE]

No, Mr. Koons is an artist rearranging time and space with his creations, and making a person reconsider the world of objects in which he lives. It is a secular undertaking, distinctly different than the sacred. He would still be doing art as an avocation as a commodities trader. That's his nature. He received no honorarium from Salvador Dali. Nor was money discussed.

[@Jayrah7]

It's simpler to say that you're just bitter about his success.

[@walkerpercy8702]

His "art" is not art. Emperor wears no clothes. P.T. Barnum would be envious

[@w.urlitzer1869]

balloons filled with hot air.

[@reinaldosanguino]

This whole thing is a promotion to sell his moon NFT’S 🤮

[@KoshNaranick]

1st sentence of this video and I started to laugh!

[@inktologist]

I'm confused what skill is required just imagining things and getting the talent to actually pull off the task requested. Paying artist to do your Artist job, seems like a different profession alll together. Maybe he should be considered a Creative Director or Project consultant.

[@kenneld]

This is and always has been pretty common practice in the art world. Many Renaissance artists (particularly sculptors) employed workshops for example. I feel like a lot of people watching this think all artists work alone, or SHOULD work alone, but that would be extremely limiting for artists who's vision extends beyond their physical capabilities.

[@tbd407]

it's not about just imagining things - it's about while the rest of humanity is charging towards object A, one guy stops and points at object B and says guys look at that. Art at its best does that

[@toddlevin]

Jeff set up the The Koons Family Institute (KFI) on International Law and Policy in 2007, which is the entire research arm of The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. The KFI assists the UN with expertise regarding child sexual exploitation and child abduction, and also works with INTERPOL, The Organization of American States (the OAS), and The Hague Conference on Private International Law. The KFI has reported on the presence of child pornography legislation in all INTERPOL member countries. The KFI is also partnered with The Protection Project at Johns Hopkins University Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, creating the 'Child Protection Project', which drafts laws focusing on child protection dealing with neglect, abuse, maltreatment, and exploitation. The KFI also currently works with The World Bank Global Forum to produce international legislation and policy responses in Latin America and Asia, with a focus on protecting children from violence and abuse, in particular from child pornography, online grooming, cyberbullying, and sexting through the use of the internet and other technologies.

[@Jose.Eduardo.C]

You speak of that as if makes him a better person, not that it's institute gets him even more tax breaks that his art probably already make, and it delegates to a private institution the work of public security and public interest. Billionaire charity is a scam

[@tthomas184]

He spent a tiny fraction setting up the foundation of what he spent on his own private residence in Manhattan. Pretty clear where his priorities are.

[@uyd]

He made the statue that stands in front of Golden 1 Center home of The Sacramento Kings

[@Ira06002]

I can’t past the “manufacturing” approach to his works.

[@ARIZJOE]

Manufacturing makes our life possible. It is integral to post-modern life. Therefore, art utilizing manufacturing techniques.

[@kenneld]

I think of it as being like a film director. It's his vision which he employs a big team to execute.

[@boldandnew]

I was thinking the same thing 😂 . No wonder is artwork is listed as controversial, because it is apart of his background.

[@MohAmeDALArabY-cg6sr]

God loves you and takes care of you so that this message reaches you. God is the one who created this great universe and has complete control over it. And the greatest loss that a person loses in this life is that he lives while he does not know God who created him, knowing the Messenger of Muhammad, the last of the messengers, and the Islamic religion, the last of the heavenly religions. The great intelligence, before you believe in something or not, is to read it, study it, and understand it well, and then you have the choice to believe in it or not. I advise you on this now before you do not have time to do that.

[@BabyJesus66]

​@@MohAmeDALArabY-cg6srdumb

[@historychannel365]

The 60 Minutes Interview with Jeff Koons at 15:22 3.7.23 I can safely say that some of his dude better work has been witnessed in the flesh because he keeps assaulting my consciousness.

[@DrRichardMarques]

He has definitely been instrumental in the evolution of the art world. Personally I think the work is wonderful and full of nostalgia.

[@bidhrohi12]

Definitely worth $700 bucks for a big one. Not millions.

[@salazeug]

nostalgia is poison

[@camerongasser4333]

Says the man in a suit!

[@nancywysemen7196]

very interesting,entertaining. love the technology. is product worthy? like to see people getting paid. hope it's a "good" job. lovely to have a farm. nice description of neighbor,free garden,shelf art.

[@kenneld]

Jesus, what language is this?

[@austin7581]

anyone notice the strange "Leonardo De Vinci" sign on the "larger moon" artwork at the end?

[@lindagarland5223]

I have been exposed to Jeff's work.. After Anderson's interview, I have an appreciation for Koon's work. The concept IS art, the way he expresses himself as an artist.

[@markb.265]

No its not.

[@lindagarland5223]

@@markb.265 not getting enough attention?

[@juliehubbard1094]

❤

[@Jefemcownage]

His grandparents 800 acre farm...hahaha

[@user-ux5hp6vp2t]

A Vanderbilt talks about $91 million artworks. How relatable to common Americans!

[@emhartung]

Looking at his work... I do feel an attraction to look at, but then I realize its for all the wrong reasons. So, similarly to the MOMA curator it is a repulsion because there doesn't seem to be any purity in the work. It represents the trivial to me... Id rather not focus on that thank you.

[@bengjie]

I kinda agree with Morey

[@driftwoods2229]

Dude is making $$$$$ game is game

[@mimiporter9316]

Jeff Koons is to the art world what Steve Jobs was to the technology world….

[@justinbrunelle6998]

Do you love marketing? Snickers satisfy ssssssss.

[@mildred1217]

Andy Warhol opened up a new world for the following generation amd Jeff koons is one of them. One of the better talker for sure🎉

[@delana2842]

I have a copy of Lady Gaga's Art Pope, which is one of my favorites in her repertoire. It is good to know Koons did the art work.

[@JJONNYREPP]

Jeff Koons: The 60 Minutes Interview 1527pm 3.7.23 so you have an actual 60minute interview or is this it..?

[@aprendetarot2622]

I think the note about Anderson having bought one of his works at a charity auction was probably a bit irrelevant.

[@jameswarhol442]

Vacuum cleaner bag: "It's like a womb." No, it's not. It's bag. That statement tells you all you need to know about Koons.

[@dagmarmarionkidwell-to9ub]

Oh there's a lot more u need to know that would blow ur mind if u found out.

[@camerongasser4333]

He talks like a politician

[@imalrockme]

Exactly!

[@sophiefly4258]

Emperor wears no clothes…

[@lelatenor7854]

Can you help me show my art. I need a venue .

[@DLVRYDRYVR]

Art Is Manipulation™

[@Louisgauche]

this man is my dads uncle......

[@sacdigitaldesignweb]

Lol it’s hard for koons to put out a serious face here

[@ollas77]

I OBJECT to his taking all of the oxygen out of the air for the majority of artists who are not rich or commercially success, it's safe decorations for the wealthy and corporations, nothing risky or even personal, much less intimate. soul less art for soul less people.

[@leststoner]

Amen

[@joeswampdawghenry]

Art is as art does.....

[@demetriosnikolianos1912]

Get a little, get a little, money money money money! Mark a yen a buck or a pound! That clinky clinky sound!

[@fedbumoz987]

Replacing life in art.

[@GK-up6xz]

Full disclosure. Good journalism.

[@georgemohr7532]

Interesting interview. Does not address his early work with Chickolina with who he has a son. The photographs that were his first exhibited worksher are not even considered. These photographs were cutting edge at the time as they border on the pornographic. A very soft piece but what would you expect from from this "interviewer." I guess journalism was not the goal here. Fluff, fluff and more fluff.

[@tthreepointo8267]

what a waste of money.....all the people that could help instead

[@ueckbueck]

He looks so old now 😮

[@fedbumoz987]

Nothing to lose??? Lol

[@matsudaseiko]

i really hope jeff koons didn't pay for this PR stunts.........sigh

[@nottart331]

Sounds like a conflict of interest for Anderson Cooper.

[@JoshhuaRay]

Inflate the seconds in a minute; its not Andy Warhol.

[@bifeldman]

Meh. Not for me.

[@JJONNYREPP]

Jeff Koons: The 60 Minutes Interview 1522pm 3.7.23 he keeps invading my consciousness... and i can safely say i have seen in the proverbial flesh some of his dude superior oeuvre.

[@michaelm.3210]

MyGawd, this man is a simpleton. He seems to be devoid of any and all depth.

[@BrianMorrisPhoto]

Anderson, You could buy something from me that I made and is a true original.... that would help me get of the streets and into a house ! You could do that or you can continue to buy from those who have everything they already need.... I wont be sad..

[@MeganCartyArt]

He's an idea man...making us look at the every day "stuff" in a higher way. It's almost performance art in that way. He's certainly not about decoration; it's about an experience and an idea.

[@N-wordScissorhands]

Thomas Kinkade was better.

[@cinderclawz]

Seems like a massive waste of time, money and resources.

[@KoshNaranick]

I tried to watch but just the opening statement ended that... damn funny! want to see a real artist? look up Dali! Van Gogh! they did their own work and didnt hire out and are still the undisputed masters of their craft... though dead.. they are leaps, miles and galaxies ahead of this guy ...

[@JoshStoller]

Deborah Butterfield>Jeff Koons

[@FigaroHey]

Turning a balloon dog into a stainless steel sculpture on a massive scale is the kind of thing I'd think Uncle Edwin might do down on the farm in the winters, to keep him out of the house and out of Aunt Ila's hair. Then after forty years of putting together scraps of metal, smoothing and polishing until it's perfect, he wheels it out into the front 40. Aunt Ila rolls her eyes at the foolishness and wonders if this means he'll be underfoot in her kitchen now. But the neighbors drive by with their kids and say, 'Cool!' and high school graduates go out in the field and have their pictures taken under it, and eventually the local hooligans start using it for target practice and kudzu grows all over it, and then Uncle Edwin dies and someone in his town of Dead Relative, Ohio decides to 'Save the Dog!' and they get it out of the field and haul it into the front of City Hall and polish it up and have a 'Dog Days Festival' and paint the kids' faces like puppies and people go around with helium-filled dog balloons and people buy slices from the world's longest hot dog and a good time is had by all and NOBODY from New York City would even THINK of paying 91 million dollars for Uncle Edwin's life work.

[@parkhopper9671]

More Fluff.. can I get a real story

[@jesusraelian]

Jeff CON

[@tbd407]

This guy is a genius

[@TinMan2u]

Who is this guy? Does he visit widows & orphans in their afflictions? Can't be that important to the homeless unless he invited one home to dinner. Verily.

[@rionasera]

Oh my God, his last name is racist.

[@jeansherwood2428]

Andy Warhol 2.0

[@Offa7a]

😂😂 this is worse than Ponzi Scheme.

[@randygeyer7673]

I’m sorry but he’s a joke. An art joke all the way to the bank.

[@dagmarmarionkidwell-to9ub]

Just his presence exudes evil, u people can't c the forest for the trees. For GODS sake do some research

[@ttaylor1808]

Prominent hack

[@judyhoff5663]

Please get rid of Scott pelt. He is the worst

[@Steve-im3wj]

This guy is such a hack and I think he knows it

[@yeeebayeeba4268]

Cooper is such a short little punk. I can never see this guy the same after the eminem interview and a video of hom uncontrollably laughing.

[@sonnycorbi4316]

(PLEASE READ MY COMMENT LIKE HAIKU POETRY I CAN’T TAKE THE TIME TO EDIT) BROVO! - BACK IN THE EARLY 80’S I ATENDD AND ART SHOW OF JEFF KOONS AT THE SAN FRANCISCO MOMA - I REMEMBER THE MICHAEL JACKSON CERAMIC - I APPLAUD JEFF KOONS - THINK NOT JUST FOR TODAY BUT FAST FORWARD MANY MANY MANY YEARS - ALSO KEEP IN MIND THE ARCHITECT DOES NOT BUILD THE HOUSE OR THE BUILDING - IT COMES DOWN TO ONES DEFINITION OF THE WORD - ART - IT’S SUCH A NEBULOUS WORD IT MEANS EVERYTHING AND IT MEANS NOTHING - PERHAPS THESE PEOPLE WHO CONDEM HIM DEFIN ART AS REPLICATION OF AN OBJECT OR A PERSON ON CANVAS TO A POINT OF PHOTOGRAPHIC REALISM - ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL MIGHT DEFINE “ART” AS “ABSTRACT” - I FEEL THAT WORD IS A MISNOMER - I AM A VISUAL ARTIST - I CHANNEL, I PAINT THE FUTURE - IF SOMETHING IS GOING AWRY IN MY FAMILY A PICTURE WILL APPEAR TO WORN ME - NOSTRADAMUS LIKE POLITICAL OR RELIGIOUS WARNINGS APPEAR - ON MY WAY TO CALIFORNIA I BROKE DOWN IN BATTLE MOUNTAIN NEVADA AND I HAD TO HANG OUT IN THAT DELIGHTFUL LITTLE DESSERT TOWN AND MY TRIP THROUH THE DESSERT - WHEN I ARRIVED IN THE BAY AREA AND AFTER I PROCURED A STUDIO ALL THESE WONDERFUL DESERT SCENES APPEARED IN MY PAINTINGS - I CAN NOT SIT DOWN AND GIVE SOMEONE A “READING”, AT LEAST I HAVE NEVER TRIED, AND DON’T WANT TO - THATS NOT WHAT I AM ABOUT - ALSO I HAVE STUDIED THEORETICAL PHYSICS ON MY OWN ALONG WITH PHILOSOPHY AND METAPHYSICS - VISUAL ART (TO ME) HAS A STRONG CROSS CORRELATION WITH THEORETICAL PHYSICS - THE BRAIN SENDS MESSAGES TO EVERYWHERE IN THE BODY, (PARAPHRASING THAT CONCEPT) BUT DID YOU KNOWN THE HEART SENDS MESSAGES TO THE BRAIN - THE HEART ADDRESSES OR SPEAKS THROUGH THE UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS THAT WE ALL SHARE - AT THAT LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS TIME AND SPACE OR TIME/SPACE DOES NOT EXIST - SOME PEOPLE OR THE MASSES, SIMPLE PUT DON’T KNOW THEY DON’T KNOW - VISUAL ART IS PRIMORDIAL IT HAS IT’S OWN ALPHABET WITH AND INFINITE NUMBER OF LETTERS AND COMPOSITIONS (MATHEMATICIANS I HAVE JUST QUANTIFIED INFINITY) - LIKE A SONG THAT HITS THE AIRWAYS AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE LOVE IT OVER NIGHT - THERE IS A ONENESS EXPRESSED OR IDEATED IN THAT COMMENT ANWAR SADAT - “LEADERS ARE NOT ELECTED THERE DRAFTED” - UNDERSTAND THE ESSENCE OF THAT COMMENT AND YOU HAVE TAKEN THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS MANY STEPS TO COME - DID YOU KNOW THE UNITED STATE ARMY HAS OR HAD A “REMOTE VIEWING, (FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD) DEPARTMENT WHERE PEOPLE SIT AND DRAW PICTURES OF WHAT THE ENEMY IS DOING, (PARAPHRASING THAT COMMENT) AND YES I DID DRINK THE KOOL-AID THANK YOU 60, MINUTES -

[@foto21]

I don't have a problem with Koons use of employees and craftsmen. I like maybe 3 of his pieces and thought the balloon dog was a real piece of pop art in the Warhol tradition. However, he is still mostly a hack. His BMW piece was a ripoff of other pop artists, and his work for Gaga was straight up trash. At root, his lack of being hands on ever makes him an inexperienced and people who pay exhorbitant amounts for his current work are going to find their investment not worth squat long term. It's one thing to hire others for pieces you can't do yourself. But to never put your own hands on anything just means you pretty much suck and have no chops, on any level. Spending 30,000 hours refining that ballerina trash figure has to be one of the stupidest uses of human labor in all history. He could've used that money and manpower to build a truly significant and useful art building, but that would take expansive vision regarding OTHERS, which he CLEARLY lacks. His work was appropriate in the selfish America of the 80s and 90s. In the 21st century, an era in which America and the world are struggling for long term survival, his work is totally a reflection of the utter uselessness of the rich elites.