Susan Jacobson

For my birthday I went to Paris to see the Jeff Koons show at the Chateau de Versailles. It was fantastic! I was inspired to go by this article in the New York Times about the show. I fell in love with the Balloon Dog, and it did not disappoint. It's a Macy's Day Parade-sized metallic sculpture in the shape of a balloon dog perched in the middle of the Hercules Room at the Chateau de Versailles. Despite its hot pink coloring it looks right at home in the Sun King's palace. The effect is hilarious.



Koons placed one of his sculptures in each of the most famous rooms of the Chateau. I think that the Balloon Dog was the most successful placement, although I also liked the moon in the Hall of Mirrors, the bust of Louis XIV and a rather sweet hanging heart at the end of the show. Oh, and the lobster was kind of cute. There were protests in France when the show opened in November, as French purists complained that the work of the American artist Koons would pollute the cultural seriousness of the Chateau de Versailles. In the past Koons has been dismissed by The New York Times and The New Republic as a vulgarian catering to the tastes of the tacky rich. But honestly, the Koons sculptures are like a fresh breeze blowing through the musty old Chateau, and the curators have extended the show, which was originally scheduled to end December 14, until April, 2009. They are no dummies.



I also visited the Musee d'Orsay while I was in Paris. December is a good month to go museum-hopping in France, as the sky is very grey and the wind whips off the Seine. ( See more photos from Paris )