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Jeff Koons Makes a Splash With Yacht Design

International mega-super-star artist Jeff Koons has designed his first yacht and has brought new meaning to the term “the art of yachting.”

Dakis Joannou, a Greek businessman billionaire and art-collector, hired Koons to design the exterior of the art yacht named “Guilty” — since it’s 2008 completion, “Guilty” has made a  splash in the art world and stirred a buzz in the art-blogosphere.  The ship has become somewhat of a status-symbol in the contemporary art world, considering its passengers have included such artists as Jeffrey Deitch, Larry Gagosian, Marian Goodman, Maurizio Cattelan, Ashley Bickerton, Nicholas Serota of the Tate.

Drawing inspiration from the ole American & Brit WWI  boat-camouflaging technique called razzle dazzle, or razzle camouflaging, Koons’ dressed the  114 ft luxury yacht in colorful, angular shapes and abstract dotted patterns.  Though Koons states the design was based on the WWI razzle camouflage, art critics say the design calls to mind the early pop-art paintings of Roy Lichtenstein.

Yes, the boat is flamboyant and a little pompous, but I really love the idea of it;  I can’t quite tell if Koons was going for kitsch or vanguard, but the fact is this: Koons used a yacht as his medium and “Guilty” will prove to be a masterpiece that will define the career of Jeff Koons.

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WWI Razzle Boat Camouflage

Roy Lichtenstein

Jeff Koons