Jeff Koons at the Beyeler Museum is the Daily Pic by Blake Gopnik

It seems a stretch to think of Jeff Koons as a realist, as he suggested in a recent chat, but it makes a kind of sense. (Read my full account of our conversation on The Daily Beast.) Koons is all about presenting new perspectives on the pop culture we live in. And that means he’s got to depict that culture with perfect verisimilitude – as in this pig sculpture, titled “Ushering in Banality” and now on view in a Koons survey at the Beyeler museum in Basel. Koons had it made by the kitschmeister carvers of Germany, to make sure it was a completely accurate, credible depiction of a certain cheesy corner of our world.

For a full visual survey of past Daily Pics visit blakegopnik.com/archive.