1) Gustav Courbet and Takashi Murakami are both realists. In this case, realist refers to art that acts as political commentary. Courbet rebelled against the artistic traditions of his day by creating un-idealized images of normal working class people. The goal of his work is to document the contemporary culture of his day. Murakami's work functions in much the same same way. Instead of creating realistic images of normal people, Murakami's sculptures are inspired by manga and fetish culture. Though both artists used different mediums and methods, they both sought to use art to reflect culture.
2) The Murakam exhibit in Versailles brings together the old and the new. The austere atmosphere of Versailles makes a strong contridiction with the strange, brightly colored, cartoonish sculptures of Murakami. One represents the age of enlightenment and reason and the other the pinnacle of postmodernism. The decorations in Versailles speak of a time where art strove to create beauty. Murakami's work is more political in nature. He uses images from popular culture create a picture of the society he lives in. Taken together they create an image of a great and glorious past and a garish and vulgar future.
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