Jeff Koons: Versailles [Hardcover]

Jean-Pierre Criqui (Author), Edouard Papet (Author), Jeff Koons (Author), Francois Pinault (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2009

This volume presents a marriage made in camp heaven--the splendid extravagance of the palace of Versailles as a backdrop for the gregarious, loud and equally extravagant sculptures of contemporary American Pop artist Jeff Koons, who mounted the first contemporary art exhibition ever in the apartments of the king in September 2008. What other artist could match Louis XIV's love of the saccharine gesture? Sugared up to the max, Koons here counterposes Versailles' rich detail with his more simplified forms, including a monumental red chocolate-box-style heart, balloon dog and suspended red aluminum lobster. Other works outdo Versailles for kitsch, such as Koons' marble self-portrait, playfully sited amid busts of Louis XIV, his infamous "Michael Jackson and Bubbles" sculpture and his ever-cryptic bare-breasted blonde clutching the Pink Panther. Yet others, such as the large vase of flowers, blend seamlessly with the decor. Needless to say, accusations of irreverence have abounded, but Koons avows only respect for the venue and has testified that he has drawn inspiration for his floral sculptures from the "fantasy and control" shown by Louis XIV himself. The degree of sympathy is as hard to contest as the edge of parody: Asked why he installed his vitrine of vacuum cleaners among the portraits of royalty in the Queen's antechamber, Koons replied that, among other things, vacuum cleaners are "very womblike." This monograph records each of the 17 works as exhibited and is supplemented with texts by Jean-Jacques Aillagon, chairman of Versailles and a former French culture minister, and controversial French novelist Michel Houellebecq, among others.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Editions Xavier Barral; First edition. edition (March 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 2915173419
• ISBN-13: 978-2915173413
• Product Dimensions: 13.2 x 12.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Versailles a stage of the past, and for the present and the future., September 6, 2010

By 

Alexandra M. Lucas - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jeff Koons: Versailles (Hardcover)

This is a fantastic book. Might I say first that I was impartial to the art of Jeff Koons...until now. I went to the book store to look at this book for a uni assessment.I have to say I wasn't at all amused at the thought of spending $90 on a contemporary art book. This definitely changed as I rapidly turned the pages. I have studied Versailles and the art of this period and in hindsight I would say that I was a naive traditionalist art history student. I have only read the foreword (I am 498words into my assessment...I just had to share this) and I feel as though the contemporary art world has opened it's doors to me! Freaking awesome is the only way to put it. I already have so much to write. I never would have envisaged Versailles as a stage for contemporary art, now I only pray that I can get hold of the next installment- Murakami super-flat artist in Versailles 2010 (this artist I do know well!).

This book=
About 15% words and 85% super HD massive photographs of Jeff Koons art in Versailles. The reading is accessible (I know nothing little about contemporary art) and very informative for a range of readers. The rationale of the exhibition is clear. The photographs are exceptional. Research and coffee table book in one.

Conclusion: I feel inspired to read more about contemporary art- and definitely see more of it!