Jeff Koons Exhibit at Versailles

The Château Versailles is again the site of controversy. Where the public was once literally up in arms about the goings-on at the palace inhabited by Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette, today they have their britches in a bunch over the current exhibit. On display through December 14, 2008 are 17 Jeff Koons sculptures.
An American artist, Jeff Koons’ most widely recognized works are his large public sculptures. Known as the "King of Kitsch," his work is often classified as Neo- or Post- Pop. He has pioneered a method to turn inflatable objects into metal and many of these pieces are on display in Versailles.

The current exhibit marks the first time a contemporary American artist has been granted a retrospective at the venue, and not everyone is happy about it. A right-wing organization dedicated to "French artistic purity" known as the National Union of Writers of France, for example, has been protesting the show at the palace gates. On the other side of the debate, the curators claim that the show aims to break down the clichés attached to the palace and offer new insight into the site.
Among the group visiting Versailles with me, the exhibit served to cause it's own bit of disagreement. I loved it. It was very interesting to see how modern art and original pieces in the palace interact. What better way to highlight the decadence of the palaces by juxtaposing it to an over-the-top contemporary artist? In one room there was a sculpture of Michael Jackson and his pet orangutan Bobo. It's not too hard to draw a parallel between his disconnection to regualr people as Marie Antoinette's.
My in-laws on the other hand hated it. Afterward they told me they tried their best to ignore the Koons works altogether.

Love it or hate it the exhibit was successful in accomplishing one thing: it forced visitors to look at the rooms differently, and created something to discuss. In the end, isn't that really one of the most important things that art can do?