Why Not To Work For Jeff Koons

Why NOT To Work For Jeff Koons
US artist Jeff Koons poses in his exhibition "Jeff Koons. The Painter" in front of his painting "Antiquity 3" (2009 - 2011) at the Schirn Kunsthalle gallery in Frankfurt, central Germany, Tuesday, June 19, 2012. The Schirn Kunsthalle and the Liebighaus sculpture collection arranged a joint exhibition titled "Jeff Koons. The Painter and the Sculptor" that runs from June 20 to Sept. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/dapd, Mario Vedder)
US artist Jeff Koons poses in his exhibition "Jeff Koons. The Painter" in front of his painting "Antiquity 3" (2009 - 2011) at the Schirn Kunsthalle gallery in Frankfurt, central Germany, Tuesday, June 19, 2012. The Schirn Kunsthalle and the Liebighaus sculpture collection arranged a joint exhibition titled "Jeff Koons. The Painter and the Sculptor" that runs from June 20 to Sept. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/dapd, Mario Vedder)

At this very moment many young artists are endlessly scrolling through the infamous job listings on the New York Foundation for the Arts website hoping to find anything that slightly resembles a paying gig. Then it suddenly appears, a job listing by no other than Jeff Koons. I've always wondered why someone would ever want to work in Koon's factory. Unless you have an undying love for painting photorealistic lobsters or would like to become an expert in polishing balloon dogs, what's the point?

Each job posting is worded very carefully describing a perhaps understated "demanding studio atmosphere" requiring that each applicant send a resume, as well as images of work. But is working for Jeff Koons really as easy as sending a couple of emails, and perhaps some photos? Apparently it is, as stated in a previous New York Times Magazine essay by John Powers, a former painting assistant to Koons. (Unfortunately, the painting Powers worked on for months ended up fatally damaged in a fall.)

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