Michael Jackson and Bubbles facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Michael Jackson and Bubbles |
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The artist's proof, on display at The Broad
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| Artist | Jeff Koons |
| Year | 1988 |
| Medium | Porcelain |
| Subject | Michael Jackson |
| Dimensions | 110 cm × 179 cm × 83 cm (42 in × 70.5 in × 32.5 in) |
Michael Jackson and Bubbles is a famous porcelain sculpture made by the American artist Jeff Koons. It was created in 1988. This artwork is part of his special Banality series.
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What the Sculpture Shows
This life-size porcelain sculpture shows the famous American singer Michael Jackson. He is leaning back on a bed of flowers. On his lap is his pet chimpanzee, named Bubbles. Bubbles is holding a white cloth.
Michael and Bubbles look like they belong together. They wear similar clothes and have similar colors. Some parts of their bodies, like Michael's hand and Bubbles' paw, are placed in a similar way. The artist designed the sculpture so it looks good from many different angles.
About Bubbles the Chimpanzee
Bubbles was Michael Jackson's pet chimpanzee. Michael bought him from a research place in Texas in 1983. Many people in the media said Bubbles was Michael's best friend. They even said Bubbles went with Michael on his world tours.
Jeff Koons used a photo of Michael Jackson and Bubbles to help him create this sculpture. The sculpture looks almost exactly like the photo. Koons only changed Michael's head position a little bit. This change made the sculpture look better from all sides.
The Meaning Behind the Art
When this sculpture was made, Michael Jackson was extremely famous around the world. His album Bad had sold a record number of copies. He was at the very top of his career.
Jeff Koons' artwork can be seen as a comment on how much the media cared about Michael Jackson. They were interested in his life as a musician and also his private life.
Where to See the Sculpture
Three copies of the Michael Jackson and Bubbles sculpture were made. One of them was sold at an auction called Sotheby's on May 15, 2001. It sold for a record price of 5.6 million dollars.
The artist's own copy is owned by the Broad Art Foundation. This foundation belongs to a businessman and art collector named Eli Broad. This copy is now shown at The Broad Museum in Downtown Los Angeles.
The other two copies of the sculpture are in different museums. One is in Oslo, Norway, at the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art. The other is in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in California.
Exhibitions
In 2012, the Liebieghaus museum in Frankfurt, Germany, did something interesting. They displayed Michael Jackson and Bubbles next to ancient Egyptian mummies. This created a unique and thought-provoking display between very different objects.
