Jeff Koons loves Shinsegae

I was already on the subway home when I saw the bag. Jeff Koons Loves Shinsegae, it said. At the bus stop I followed the flow of bags into the department store. Everywhere inside were shiny balloons reading JEFF and mannequined t-shirts and posters of his sculpture Sacred Heart.

There was no artist collaboration section or anything on sale to be seen. All the information desk could tell me was that something was happenig at a Shinsegae across town. On a pay-per minute PC back at the station I learned I'd missed an artist-in-attendance by only hours.

The Shinsegae website shows cups, necklaces, and t-shirts celebrating Sacred Heart for sale. Turns out Shinsegae is excited about its own purchase. The company recently bought Sacred Heart, which I saw ontop the MET, to perch on its Myeongdong store.

On the web I found the reason for the love affair. The purchase price of Sacred Heart, before any endorsement deal: 30 billion won (25 mil) hard cash. So who says money can't buy love?