New York-based artist Jeff Koons poses with his wife Justine Wheeler as he unveiled his much-awaited and controversial sculpture "Bouquet of Tulips" dedicated to the victims of the terrorists attacks, in a garden next to the Champs Elysee near the Petit Palais museum in Paris, Friday, Oct. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
The Associated Press
PARIS (AP) - New York-based pop artist Jeff Koons has unveiled his long-awaited, giant sculpture titled “Bouquet of Tulips” in Paris. The work commemorates the victims of terror attacks that rocked France in 2015 and 2016.
The 12.6-meter (41-foot) sculpture, fashioned from polychromed bronze, stainless steel, and aluminum, portrays a hand clasping a bouquet of balloon-like tulips.
Koons said Friday the “inflatable flowers represent loss, rebirth, and the vitality of the human spirit.”
At an inauguration ceremony attended by some families of the November 2015 Paris terror attacks, Koons called the flowers “a symbol that life moves forward.”
Controversy over the placement of the sculpture stalled its installation for years after Koons announced the gift in November 2016. It was finally placed in the gardens of the Champs-Elysees.
New York-based artist Jeff Koons poses with his wife Justine Wheeler as he unveiled his much-awaited and controversial sculpture "Bouquet of Tulips" dedicated to the victims of the terrorists attacks, in a garden next to the Champs Elysee near the Petit Palais museum in Paris, Friday, Oct. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
The Associated Press
New York-based artist Jeff Koons poses as he unveiled his much-awaited and controversial sculpture "Bouquet of Tulips" dedicated to the victims of the terrorists attacks, in a garden next to the Champs-Elysee near the Petit Palais museum in Paris, Friday, Oct. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
The Associated Press
New York-based artist Jeff Koons poses as he unveiled his much-awaited and controversial sculpture "Bouquet of Tulips" dedicated to the victims of the terrorists attacks, in a garden next to the Champs-Elysee near the Petit Palais museum in Paris, Friday, Oct. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
The Associated Press
New York-based artist Jeff Koons poses as he unveiled his much-awaited and controversial sculpture "Bouquet of Tulips" dedicated to the victims of the terrorists attacks, in a garden next to the Champs Elysee near the Petit Palais museum in Paris, Friday, Oct. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
The Associated Press
New York-based artist Jeff Koons poses as he unveiled his much-awaited and controversial sculpture "Bouquet of Tulips" dedicated to the victims of the terrorists attacks, in a garden next to the Champs Elysee near the Petit Palais museum in Paris, Friday, Oct. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
The Associated Press
New York-based artist Jeff Koons poses as he unveiled his much-awaited and controversial sculpture "Bouquet of Tulips" dedicated to the victims of the terrorists attacks, in a garden next to the Champs Elysee near the Petit Palais museum in Paris, Friday, Oct. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
The Associated Press