Jeff Koons believes in the power of art to change not only our minds and hearts, but our genes. He sees the viewing and making of art as an opportunity for transcendence. To get there, artists need to communicate and connect, not just with the viewer, but with the artists who came before them, those who were able to create something outside of themselves.
Koons has long thought that art should exist without barriers—of educational pedigree, art history knowledge, or financial or institutional access. It’s why his public work is arguably his strongest. Like Seated Ballerina, which was on view from May 12 to June 9 at Rockefeller Center, to raise awareness with the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children for National Missing Children’s Month. That was the artist’s third time presenting a public work at Rockefeller Center alone, following Split-Rocker in 2014 and Puppy in 2000...