‘I had four hours with him. I also took five coloured sheep along to the shoot, as well as some helium balloons with his name on them. But this simple image was stronger’
‘He only agreed after I painted my assistant’s face white and he saw how great it looked’ … Jeff Koons with Floral Headpiece .‘He only agreed after I painted my assistant’s face white and he saw how great it looked’ … Jeff Koons with Floral Headpiece .Wed 13 Jul 2022 15.18 BSTthat had all-white, almost classical, plaster sculptures in it. That’s how I got the idea of painting him white, to turn him into a sculpture. He has also used a lot of flowers in his art. I had photographed Jeff before.
He loved the picture, so trusted me. But it still took a long time to talk him into this photo. I had to ask him three times to do the white face paint. In the end, I painted my assistant’s face white and he saw how great it looked, so finally agreed. The gold makeup around the eyes was also my idea., which was doing a big profile. I had four hours with him. There’s a fine line between something good and something a bit goofy, or that feels too staged. But I like photos that are whimsical.
Jeff is hard to read. He’s not very warm or outgoing; he’s buttoned-up and strait-laced. I respect him and I love him as an artist, but this was very much a professional encounter. I talk while I photograph people, to distract them and get a range of expressions. But I’m always stressed out – there are so many things that can go wrong. In this case, if he had just worn the flowers without the white paint, you wouldn’t be looking at the photo right now.
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