jeff koons plants split-rocker in rockefeller center

jeff koons plants flowering split-rocker in rockefeller center
(above) jeff koons, split-rocker, 2000
stainless steel, soil, geotextile fabric, internal irrigation system, and live flowering plants
446 7/8 x 483 1/8 x 427 5/8 inches — 1,135.1 x 1,227.1 x 1,086.2 cm — edition of 1 plus 1 AP
© jeff koons / courtesy gagosian gallery / photography by tom powel imaging

jeff koons’ ‘split-rocker’ has arrived in new york city, towering and flowering above city dwellers and sightseers at manhattan’s world-renowned rockefeller plaza. presented by gagosian gallery and organized by public art fund and tishman speyer, the monumental plant soars 37 feet above the public square, watching over the glistening prometheus statue and cityscape situated below. the half-pony, half-dinosaur sculpture is grown from 50,000 flowering plants: ‘I love the dialogue with nature in creating a piece that needs so much control—how many plants should be planted? how will these plants survive?—while at the same time giving up the control.‘ koons comments ‘it’s in nature’s hands, even though you try to plan everything to make the plants survive. this sense of giving up control is very beautiful. the balance between control and giving up control reminds us of the polarity of existence.’ the public pieces coincides with the opening of his retrospective at the whitney museum of american art, from june 27th to october 19th, 2014.

jeff koons, split-rocker, 2000
stainless steel, soil, geotextile fabric, internal irrigation system, and live flowering plants
446 7/8 x 483 1/8 x 427 5/8 inches — 1,135.1 x 1,227.1 x 1,086.2 cm — edition of 1 plus 1 AP
© jeff koons / courtesy gagosian gallery / photography by tom powel imaging

jeff koons, split-rocker, 2000
stainless steel, soil, geotextile fabric, internal irrigation system, and live flowering plants
446 7/8 x 483 1/8 x 427 5/8 inches — 1,135.1 x 1,227.1 x 1,086.2 cm — edition of 1 plus 1 AP
© jeff koons / courtesy gagosian gallery / photography by tom powel imaging