Murakami Exhibition Opening Today at Versailles: Exclusive Pictures from ARTINFO

Press interviewing Murakami at Versailles this past week
(photo courtesy of ARTINFO)
While I was away in Europe this past weekend, all of the cultural buzz on the English-speaking news networks related to the Murakami show opening today in France. A preview of the show and interviews with Murakami were made available this past Thursday to members of the international press and ARTINFO put together an exclusive photo gallery of the show. As for Murakami, the controversy that I posted about two weeks ago is only getting more heated, with even members of the Japanese press and art community taking aim at his choice of venue and the curatorial decisions surrounding the final works displayed in the exhibition: ο»Ώο»Ώ"All of this stems from misunderstanding," Murakami said of the opposition to the show. "Let’s take baseball or soccer. When one team scores, there are always people who are unhappy, get angry, and voice this. I respect that, but my task is entirely different. I wouldn’t make even the slightest change to my creations. This is not a time for bowing and trying to please everyone. Mine is a work of confrontation between the old and the new."

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