On my trip to NY this summer, I was lucky to view the Jeff Koons retrospective, one of my favorite modern pop culture artists. He's most know for his metal sculptures that look like balloon animals and other "kitchy" objects taken from their original form turned into something larger than life and poking fun at our plastic lives. His Made in Heaven photo series, he turns the camera on himself with his then-wife, Italian porn star Cicciolina, in several controversial images. Our docent tour guide defended (the image above): "Koons was playing off iconic paintings. The pimples on his wife's ass weren't removed, they are there to show the imperfections and realness that are glossed over in our mainstream culture and pornography." Personally, I think Koons wanted to show his larger-than-life inflated ego splashed on a billboard. I applaud him for not being stagnant in his career and themes, but I'm not sure if the Made in Heaven series was really pushing the boundaries of art.