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I visited the Palace of Versailles earlier this year, for the first time since I was a kid. We went in the thick of winter, on a gray, frigid day when everything was covered in snow. The overpowering drabness of the light and the people in layers of thick coats shuffling almost wordlessly from room to room made the gilded furniture and the ornate chandeliers seem almost out of place, and the gardens were dormant and remained unexplored that day. I decided maybe the Château wasn't the right fit for me to visit in winter.
And now I find out that Takashi Murakami will have an installation at the Palace this year from September 14 to December 12. Takashi Murakami, whose Superflat was THE first art book I ever bought. And I'm thinking, even if it were the dead of winter, and I and everyone else were bundled in a million different overcoats, and I couldn't help but vividly imagine frozen chamber pots in every bedroom I walked through, I'd be so down for that. I may not be a cold weather girl, but I'm a Murakami fan through and through. And I love his statement:
“For a Japanese like me, the Château de Versailles is one of the greatest symbols of Western history. It is the emblem of an ambition for elegance, sophistication and art that most of us can only dream of.
Of course, we are aware that the spark that set fire to the powder of the Revolution came directly from the centre of the building.
But, in many respects, everything is transmitted to us as a fantastic tale coming from a very distant kingdom. Just as French people can find it hard to recreate in their minds an accurate image of the Samurai period, the history of this palace has become diminished for us in reality.
So it is probable that the Versailles of my imagination corresponds to an exaggeration and a transformation in my mind so that it has become a kind of completely separate and unreal world. That is what I have tried to depict in this exhibition.
I am the Cheshire cat that welcomes Alice in Wonderland with its diabolic smile, and chatters away as she wanders around the Château.
With a broad smile I invite you all to discover the wonderland of Versailles.”
(link) : (via)
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