offensé

versailles

"Haters gon' hate."

~ moi

It's my own "c'est la vie", but better. If you can't grasp the very basic nature of the phrase, it should be interpreted very much like the southern saying "bless your heart". As a rule, I don't openly hate anything because I feel it is imperative to fight this recent trend within my generation to be averse to everything. To be frank, my biggest pet peeves are apathy, teeth-whistling, and disliking something just to be contrary. I also feel that hate truly is a strong word, and rarely do I use it as a way to describe how I feel. 

But I hated Versailles. 

My inner sassy preservation major was just screaming, "What!? What!? What are you DOING!!?"  

This thing. 

This troll.  

Lurking in the corner of the queen's bed chambers. 

Why? 

I can't describe in words the initial confusion I felt when I saw this monstrosity amongst some of the most beautiful examples of eighteenth-century French art. But it didn't stop there. Every room contained a piece of modern art by contemporary Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos. Not only was it distracting from the design and decor of each room, there were no labels or translations in the self-guided audio tours with an explanation of the modern art. They were just there. 

So to circle back, this hater was hatin'. What I've decided to do is to channel this very obvious rage I feel towards the modern art displayed in Versailles into my topic for my final research paper. I will use Versailles to discuss the negative implications of incorporating contemporary art on historic sites. I will more specifically discuss the destruction of integrity and authenticity of these historic sites by allowing modern art to be displayed. In addition, I will discuss the very real identity crisis of Versailles, and the mixed message being sent to tourists by using Versailles as a format to display contemporary art. 

When I have a finished product, I'll post it for some light reading.