Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog, exhibition 2008 The artist admitted he had some "playful" intentions regarding where some works were situated, he also acknowledged the importance of the historic venue. - However, protesters gathered in front of the palace and labeled the exhibition as "sacrilegious and insulting to the symbols of the Republic and its art." Koons could have elaborated on his concept of "playful". He is frequently belittled as the master of Kitsch, however, he took a ubiquitous icon of an enjoyable and playful activity that's thoroughly embedded in mass culture and made it accessible to the elitist world of museums and collectors. In essence, he monumentalized a symbol of play, that's never taken seriously as any kind of creative output, and elevated it to the level of art. Thus it bridges the gap between high and low culture, and in its attention getting boldness, it may also become a symbol of "the century of play".