I found this article with this odd title
"King of pop art returns..." :? while I was searching for museums and exhibitions in Paris for next weekend, especially the Palace of Versailles next Sunday morning. I remembered that Jeff Koons exposed a sculpture of MJ and Bubbles 2 years ago. Odd that he's called in this article "the king of pop art" 8-). Japanese artist Takashi Murakami exhibits his work in the Palace of Versailles. It's cartoon art, which is interesting I think, we'll have a look. Too bad that the Michael & Bubbles sculpture won't be there :cry: .
Jeff Koons, Popeye Sculpture exhibition at the Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont until 20th November 2010
Art and Culture (remember that MJ wore a T shirt (I think) with Popeye in TII... 
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It’s only his third personal exhibition in France, which is hard to believe. Two years after invading Versailles, the king of pop art returns with new works based on the world of Popeye. Love him or hate him, Jeff Koons is one man’s genius and another man’s quintessential, vulgar charlatan. However, there’s not doubt about his success as one of the highest paid contemporary artists. Perhaps one of these new works would lokk good in your home? Even if you’d rather not purchase a giant inflatable lobster, you can still go and see the exhibition pour zero euros, and perhaps even splash out on the catalogue. Your own little bit of Koons for just 30€.
Jeff Koons’ Popeye Sculpture exhibition is at the Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont (here) until 20th November 2010. Open Monday – Saturday from 11am – 7pm.
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24 October 2010 Last updated at 10:41 GMT
Aristocrat's anger at Versailles Murakami 'manga' showA French aristocrat descended from Louis XIV is seeking a court order to stop a Japanese artist exhibiting his work at the Palace of Versailles.
Work by Takashi Murakami, who blends Japanese classical art with manga-style modernity, is on show until December.
But Prince Sixte-Henri de Bourbon-Parme believes Murakami's brightly coloured work dishonours the memory of his ancestors.
The prince and fellow protesters say Murakami "denatures" French culture.
"By exhibiting at Versailles, artists benefit from an added value," he told the AFP news agency.
"We're not against the modernity of art but against a way of thinking that denatures and does French culture no good," the prince said.
'Elegance and sophistication'
Murakami's work sits in striking contrast to the classical French splendour of Versailles, the palace built during the reign of Louis XIV, the "Sun King".
The 48-year-old artist trained in traditional Japanese techniques but has risen to prominence through his "super-flat" method, incorporating two-dimensional anime and manga.
He has been dubbed "the Japanese Andy Warhol" and has been exhibited and feted across the world.
He describes his retrospective at Versailles as an opportunity to interpret the story of the Versailles through Japanese eyes, calling it "a fantastic tale coming from a very distant kingdom".
The palace is "one of the greatest symbols of Western history", the artist said.
"It is the emblem of an ambition for elegance, sophistication and art that most of us can only dream of."
Murakami's striking works include a golden buddha in the palace courtyard, and a towering fibreglass and iron sculpture, adorned with religious iconography incorporating ancient Mayan culture and symbols of Tibetan Buddhism, in the Hercules Salon.
Completed in 1736, the Hercules Salon is named for the ceiling painting of the Apotheosis of Hercules, by Francois Le Moyne, which dominates the room. Originally part of a chapel and latterly a ball room and a room for diplomatic events, the salon is decorated by two large works by the Italian Renaissance painter Veronese.
While the artist professes genuine admiration for the traditions and culture of Versailles, those taking the legal route say they feel compelled to speak up on behalf of opponents of the show.
"It's about translating into judicial terms the debate and opposition that have been raised by exposing Murakami works," Arnaud Upinsky, president of the Versailles Defence Coordination, told AFP.
The Bourbon-Parme dynasty fought once before against an art exhibition at Versailles.
In 2008 Prince Sixte-Henri's nephew, Prince Charles-Emmanuel de Bourbon-Parme, sought to ban a show by US sculptor Jeff Koons, but failed in the courts.
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There are few things that get me more excited than pop culture as high art, the marriage of the highs and lows of our mass culture. Britney by Murakami for Pop; Murakami at Versailles. Koons's Michael Jackson and Bubbles; Koons at Versailles. David LaChapelle's celebro-sanct neon fantasy lands. Warhol, obviously. Lady GaGa's "performance art." They all have a way of turning our mass culture right back at us- our obsession with celebrity and money and commodity and fame. It's a tough but irresistible look in the mirror. 8-)
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