I finally went to the MoMA today after my last class (after finding out this blog post was due today). I’m not a big fan of art exhibitions, but one piece caught my eye in particular. It was the Three Ball 50/50 Tank by Jeff Koons.
Naturally, it was the basketballs that caught my eye initially. I much prefer a 3-D piece like this one, rather than a flat, 2-D painting. The work is a steel and glass tank of water with three basketballs in it, two orange and one brown. The balls are always exactly 50% submerged and have to be replaced periodically to maintain this position. This piece is confusing at first, but it actually represents humans. The balls never stay in the same place because of the vibrations caused by people moving around, so it simulates the chaos and stress in one’s life. However, the balls always stay afloat, symbolizing human perseverance through struggle. Eventually, the balls run out of air and start to sink, symbolizing humans’ slow descent from life into eventual death. The interesting thing about this piece is that any time you visit the MoMA and visit this piece, it will always be different. I find it peculiar that every time the balls are replaced, it is always two orange balls, one brown one. I wonder why they don’t use three identical basketballs, and then think about how people aren’t identical, and go through different life cycles. The representation of people by such trivial objects like basketballs is what really made this piece pop to me.
