Jeff Koons at Versailles

So I had today off, because I was going to be working as a chaperone for a group of UofC students the next day. I decided, then, to head off to Versailles to finally see the Jeff Koons exhibit there. It’s been pretty controversial, since there are those who believe that putting Jeff Koons’s glossy, hyper-expensive, massive-scale pop-art in the context of Versailles’s pearlescent, extravagant, monumental palace sullies French cultural heritage. I say, “Yes, and?”

Anyway, it’s the kind of exhibit that enraptures or infuriates people, and either way everyone felt compelled to take many, many photos of it. I joined in the fun myself, snapping pictures until my camera ran out of juice. I was pretty salty about forgetting to re-charge the battery; the battery is so long-lasting, I forget that I need to recharge it and every once in a while I find myself out at an event with a useless camera. Grr. Anyway, I’m determined to go back one more time with a fully functioning camera. In the meanwhile, here’s some of the pictures I took today. You can find all of them, with commentary, on my Facebook album [LINK] (yes, I’m on Facebook now; don’t rub it in).

By the way, if you ever want to visit Versailles, go on a weekday during the fall. It was wonderfully under-populated by tourists. Sure, there were still tourists everywhere you looked, but I didn’t have to wait in line to buy tickets or get into the building.