National Galleries of Scotland

Koons created this billboard poster for the Whitney Museum. It is part of the series `Made in Heaven? in which Koons made works with the Italian porn-star Ilona Staller, also known as La Cicciolina, who would later become his wife. These provocative works show the naked couple in explicit poses and reference paintings by artists, such as Edouard Manet, to examine the place of sexuality in visual culture. Koons employed Ilona?s regular photographer and backdrops, to create the distinctive aesthetic associated with 'glamour' imagery. Blurring the boundaries between fine art and pornography, Koons challenged the conventions of artistic taste, encouraging his audience to make their own decisions about what is acceptable.