Year: 1996
Festival Director: Anthony Steel
Significance: The debut of what would become a world-famous public artwork, still beloved today.
Jeff Koons' giant Puppy first flowers (1996)
Sporting around 60,000 flowers, conceptual artist Jeff Koons’ Puppy brought on a full-blown case of puppy love when it was installed outside the Museum of Contemporary Art. Standing 12.4 metres tall, weighing in at around 25 tonnes and equipped with its own internal irrigation system, this giant West Highland terrier became an overnight icon – and that in a time before the iPhone.
During its time in Sydney, it was visited by an estimated 1.8 million people. Their combined photographic record captures a sculpture shifting with the seasons – and proving that even mega-scaled pop art statements can have bad hair days. Puppy calls the Guggenheim in Bilbao home now, but still has a place in Sydney’s heart.
Year: 1996
Festival Director: Anthony Steel
Significance: The debut of what would become a world-famous public artwork, still beloved today.
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