JEFF KOONS & RxART: CHICAGOs ADVOCATE HOPE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

RxART has one very ambitious goal, to bring contemporary art to hospitals and other health care facilities across the US. Their plans are to install several pieces by Jeff Koons in the CAT Scan room of Advocate Hope Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois. The works are slated to be installed on every wall of the room and include a large painting of four smiling monkeys on the pediatric CAT Scan machine itself. Koons’ installation is RxArt’s most ambitious project to date.

Loosely quoting Diane Brown, RxART's Founder & Executive Director “The fact that the Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital project is centered on Koons’ transformation of the CT Scan machine is especially significant to the origins of RxArt. The initial idea for RxArt came to me when I was undergoing a CT scan and found that the only way to distract myself from the frightening procedure was to imagine an artwork (a Matthew Ritchie painting) going up the wall and across the ceiling. By entering into this artist’s complex imagery, I was mentally transported out of the sterile environment of the hospital.”

*Jeff Koons' installation in CAT Scan room of Advocate Hope Children's Hospital.