Artheat is making a special announcement, to remind you to call your travel agent now, so that you can get to France in time for the September opening of the Jeff Koons show at the palace of Versailles.

This is a rather astonishing event considering the last attempt by an American to render unto bling the grandeur of the palace. Sophia Coppola's Marie Anoinette was filmed there, and I was delighted to discover that the movie was booed at Cannes, cos I thought it was the biggest load of expensive vapid crap I'd ever seen. It was excusable only on the grounds that it apparently mirrored Coppola's own life experience as a princess of Hollywood royalty. Apparently she is the queen of stylish designer minimalism, and I say especially in the area of emotional depth. Minimalist her movie, however, was not. Exhorbitantly lavish, it sported famous details such as edible little shoes made of sugar, designed by none other than Jean-Paul Gaultier. This was one of the better ideas she had, rescuing one, as it did, from the terminal boredom of the script.

The French have, apparently, recovered their sense of humour (did they ever have one?) after this fracas, and had the brilliant idea of vamping up the palace into a veritable orgy of High Bling in preparation for this show, at the cost of 500 million euros. This has to be seen.
The best part, though, is that there are people out there still capable of being shocked to the back teeth by the show. According to the Guardian, 'one lofty voice of dissent comes from Edouard de Royère, creator of the Fondation du Patrimoine and one of chateau's principal patrons. "I am not against contemporary art but I am absolutely shocked at its descent on Versailles, a magical, sacred place," he said. "Any tourist that comes from China or Australia will go home with this extraordinary picture of France. Even for three months, Jeff Koons at Versailles is a mistake." '

It sounds like lovely stuff. One writer says that 'as they leave the show, visitors will be treated to the sight of Hanging Heart (Magenta/Gold) suspended from the Queen's Staircase. (A fitting location, perhaps, for the work which made Koons the world's most expensive living artist when it sold for $23.6m in 2007. Marie Antoinette, as we know, was never one to turn down a luxury, especially when it was pink and tied with a big gold bow.)'

Tell me you can resist this one, and I'll know you're a liar.

Labels: Jeff Koons