The #BringPuppyToLife campaign went public after technical analysis carried out by the venue’s Conservation Department revealed the extent of degradation within Puppy, a flora-adorned West Highland terrier installation created by Jeff Koons.
Surveys of the 12-metre-tall artwork suggest replacing and refurbishing integral components of its internal structure will be essential to ensure a viable future, with the goal of the project being to extend the sculpture’s life by at least 25 years.
Making the necessary changes to the steel skeleton, the internal watering system and the layers that secure the substrate – metallic mesh and geotextile fabric which facilitate feeding the plants – will cost a combined €100,000.
The crowdfunding campaign is now live and will remain active into the autumn, when restoration work will commence – dovetailing with the next seasonal change in the sculpture’s flowers.
A special microsite, Bring Puppy To Life, has now been launched in Basque, Spanish, English and French, to encourage the maximum number of supporters to sponsor the sizeable canine sculpture. Donations can be made online via PayPal, Bizum or credit card, once again designed to make supporting the initiative as simple as possible.
At the time of publishing, the initiative had already raised 3% of its €100,000 target.
