Most of the sculptures are made of
porcelain; three editions of each were produced in addition to the artist's proof. The most notable pieces are detailed below.
Bear and Policeman A smiling brown bear wearing a striped T-shirt has his arm around a shorter policeman who is looking up at the animal.
''Fait d'Hiver'' ''Fait d'Hiver'' depicts a woman lying on her back in the snow. The upper torso and head of the woman are featured in the sculpture, her breasts exposed beneath a sparsely-knitted dress. A pig and two penguins stand near to her head, adding the kitsch element that is thematic throughout the collection. The catalogue colourfully described the work as a "Walt Disney version of an erotic fantasy ... juxtaposing a strong sexual element with the saccharine sweetness of decorative knicknacks". It went on to say that the "disturbing combination identifies a primal hunger at the heart of American consumerism". Koons based the design of the woman on a photograph of porn actress
Ilona Staller that featured in
Stern. In 2018 a French court found that Koons' sculpture had plagiarised a 1985 advertisement for , a women's clothing retailer. Damages and costs were awarded against Koons but the sculpture was not seized.
Michael Jackson and Bubbles In 1988,
Jeff Koons made three identical porcelain sculptures of Bubbles and Jackson. At the time, each sculpture was said to be worth $250,000. Koons once said of the pop star, "If I could be one other living person, it would probably be Michael Jackson." The figure shows Jackson and the chimpanzee wearing gold military-style suits. The figure sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for $5.6 million. The sale was a record for a work by Koons.
Pink Panther Pink Panther is a 41-inch tall porcelain sculpture featuring
Jayne Mansfield holding the cartoon character
Pink Panther. Mansfield is sculpted from the waist up and is partly clothed, her breasts being exposed; her right hand covers her nearly-exposed breast. The Pink Panther is shown in full, his chin over the left shoulder of Mansfield.
Robert Storr, curator of the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the
Museum of Modern Art, commented on the piece: "His mating of Jayne Mansfield and the eponymous cartoon character in Pink Panther is a thoroughly enjoyable send-up of heterosexual rapture and celebrity romance." Koons' himself states that the piece was intended to represent the Pink Panther as a female masturbation aid. His depiction of the character caused legal issues and Koons was sued for copyright infringement, eventually settling out of court. One edition of
Pink Panther was sold at
Sotheby's in May 2011 with a complementary description in the catalogue entry: On May 10, 2011, it sold significantly below the US$20–30 million expected price, reaching US$16,882,500.
Saint John the Baptist Inspired by
Leonardo da Vinci's painting,
St. John the Baptist, Koons' sculpture was made in the same pose but he also added a pig and a bird into the saint's arms. His outstretched arm points to a cross. It has been described as "an insouciant yet sinister conflation of the sacred and the profane". One edition of the sculpture was set to go on show at the Wright Exhibition Space in
Seattle in February 2004, but it was discovered to have a sizeable crack along the arm. Bought in 1991 for US$150,000, the damage is expected to have reduced the resale price of the piece, though none of the editions have been sold at auction since. Patricia Leavengood, a sculpture conservation specialist, partly restored the damage and reduced the visibility of the crack. She noted, however, that "When it cracked, part of it slid forward and can't be moved back into place ... Porcelain wasn't meant to exist at this size. My primary task is to stabilize the piece, and that I can do." Upon discovering that his picture had been copied,
Rogers sued Koons and the Sonnabend Gallery for
copyright infringement. Koons admitted to having copied the image intentionally and, in 1992, the court found "
substantial similarity" between the two works and that Koons acted in a "willful and egregious" manner. They rejected his parody argument and awarded a significant settlement to Rogers.
Wild Boy and Puppy Wild Boy and Puppy is a porcelain sculpture featuring a yellow cartoon dog, a "wild boy" with red spiky hair, and a bumblebee in a basket. The cartoon dog is a clear replica of
Odie from the
Garfield comic strip by
Jim Davis with only minimal changes. In 1993,
United Feature Syndicate, Inc. sued Koons for his unsanctioned use of Odie, successfully arguing that he had breached copyright law. Koons had defended himself in other cases using the parody argument but could not do so here—he testified to being unaware of the source of the character and therefore could not have directed the parody at the comic. One edition of the sculpture sold in November 2004 for US$1.5 million, significantly higher than its US$400,000 estimate. ==See also==