Anish Kapoor’s controversial, cavernous sculpture Dirty Corner sited in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles outside Paris has been vandalised for a second time. In a statement, Kapoor condemned the attack, saying that the 33 foot-high sculpture has “become a receptacle for the dirty politics of anti-semitic vandals, racists and right-wing royalists… I will not allow this act of violence and intolerance to be erased. Dirty Corner will now be marked with hate and I will preserve these scars as a memory of this painful history.” Fleur Pellerin, the French culture secretary, said on Twitter that the defacement was an act of “stupidity and violence against culture”. Catherine Pégard, the president of the Palace of Versailles, tweeted that the attack was “intolerable”, adding that her staff were outraged. Phrases were daubed on Saturday, 5 September, in white paint on the work and the surrounding rocks, some of them anti-Semitic; one of the slogans stated that “Christ is King in Versailles”, another said “disgust, dishonour, treason, satanism.” The 60m-long work was quickly cleaned after it was attacked in June when vandals splashed the piece with yellow paint. Kapoor’s exhibition at Versailles is due to close on 1 November.
UPDATE: Kapoor visited his work on Thursday, 10 September, and also met President Hollande who backed the artist's decision that the "marks of hatred" be left on view for the time being. More graffiti has been added since. After this third attack security will be increased further.
