Social Class

Luxury and Degradation vs. La Grenouillère and Garden at Sainte–Adresse

Jeff Koons, I Could Go For Something Gordon’s, 1986. Oil inks on canvas; 45 × 86 1/2 in. (114.3 × 219.7 cm). Allison and Warren Kanders. ©Jeff Koons
Image via whitney.org

The series, Luxury and Degradation, largely explores the idea of social class, especially in regards to the marketing of alcohol. Many of the works include canvases printed with oil-based artwork out of liquor ads. These ads speak to the tension between social class and the ambiguity as to where one fits in. The blurring of social classes, galvanized by commodity culture and fashion makes everyone look the same and creates a certain anxiety in terms of status. One can move about the crowd anonymously and hide behind certain commodities, reflecting a class to which they don’t belong. In these liquor ads, such as in I Could Go For Something Gordon’s, 1986, for instance, the marketers are trying to advertise a sort of high life. In this ad, the woman is painting, which is regarded as a high-class activity, and the man is sitting behind her, lounging about and observing her longingly. In reality, the product that they advertising is not all that classy; drinking alcohol could be considered a vice and associated with lower economic classes, yet the ad portrays it in a light that ties it to those of high economic status who enjoy time of leisure.

Jeff Koons, Fisherman Golfer, 1986. Stainless steel; 12 × 8 × 5 in. (30.5 × 20.3 × 12.7 cm). Edition no. 3/3. Julie and Edward J. Minskoff, © Jeff Koons
Image via whitney.org

Other works in this series included small vessels used to consume alcohol that are covered in stainless steel, such as Fisherman Golfer, 1986, a figurine that looks like it was an object originally made from ceramic and painted in pastels, then covered in stainless steel. The stainless steel makes these objects look luxurious and disguises their original, kitschy disposition. The stainless steel makes the object look more dignified than it actually is, dressing it up and disguising its true colors. This move further disguises social class and glamorizes potential vices, such as alcohol consumption. This series can also serve as a commentary on how certain actions and material goods can be associated with particular social classes– what you have and what you do can reveal your place within society.

La Grenouillère, 1869
Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926)
Oil on canvas; 29 3/8 x 39 1/4 in. (74.6 x 99.7 cm)
Signed and inscribed: (lower right) Claude Monet; (right)
Image via metmuseum.org

Monet was similarly concerned with the changing roles in society and indicators of class. Monet himself was very much a part of the middle class, as he came from a lower-middle class background, yet some of his extended family members upper middle class. Therefore, he was very cognizant of the small indicators of wealth and “the good life,” so to speak. With the rise of the industrial revolution, both the lower middle class and the upper middle class could enjoy time of leisure, thus blurring the lines of social classes, yet they did so in different ways. La Grenouillère, for instance, is a painting of a spa and working-class resort just outside of Paris on the Seine. In the scene, people are swimming in the river, drinking, and dancing. The people are painted from farther away, as to keep a sort of anonymity. While these people are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy their leisure time outside the city, La Grenouillère is a distinctively lower middle class setting, compared to Monet’s painting, Garden at Sainte-Adresse, where the people are lounging about in a country house on the channel.

Garden at Sainte–Adresse, 1867
Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926)
Oil on canvas; 38 5/8 x 51 1/8 in. (98.1 x 129.9 cm)
Signed (lower right): Claude Monet
Image via metmuseum.org

To make a modern comparison, it is like vacationing in the Rockaways versus the Hamptons: both are vacations, yet the destinations indicate a certain level of wealth. One difference between these two works is that in Garden Sainte-Adresse, Monet depicts leisure time in the shadow of work going on, represented by the boats and signs of industry in the background. This could be seen as a bit satirical and a slight jab at his upper middle class family members, yet it is so slight and subtle that it doesn’t bite that hard.

Both Monet and Koons’ work depict tensions within social classes, yet Koons’ connection of vice and class is more explicit while Monet’s comparisons are quite subtle. That being said, the drinking and swimming at La Grenouillère were considered slightly scandalous at the time, yet they aren’t portrayed in a blatant fashion that the viewer would pick up on that right away. Both reveal the idea of being perceived in the eyes of others and associating certain types of activities with particular social classes.