Friday Photos: Move over, Le Vau

“Balloon Dog” by Jeff Koons. Photo by Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images U.S. artist Jeff Koons opened a controversial show in Paris this week at the Hercules salon in the Château de Versailles. From a gargantuan balloon dog to his famous porcelain statue of Michael Jackson and Bubbles, Koons “redecorated” Louis XIV’s former hunting lodge inside ...

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"Balloon Dog" by Jeff Koons. Photo by Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

“Balloon Dog” by Jeff Koons. Photo by Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

U.S. artist Jeff Koons opened a controversial show in Paris this week at the Hercules salon in the Château de Versailles. From a gargantuan balloon dog to his famous porcelain statue of Michael Jackson and Bubbles, Koons “redecorated” Louis XIV’s former hunting lodge inside and out. He even filled Marie Antoinette’s room with vacuum cleaners. Of course, as NPR reports, some in France were not amused:

Koons’ sculpted rabbits and dogs “don’t belong at the palace of Versailles, they belong at Disneyland,” said journalist and radio host Anne Brassie.

Arnaud-Aaron Upinsky, the president of a writers’ union, agreed. “This exhibit is sacrilegious and insulting to the symbols of the Republic and its art,” he said, wearing a velvet-and-gold-colored crown at the protest.

Here are some more unbelievable shots from the show:

“Lobster” by Jeff Koons. Photo by Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

“Hanging Heart” by Jeff Koons. Photo by Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

“Ushering In Banality” by Jeff Koons. Photo by Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

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