Thursday, November 20, 2008
Arts Even Damien Hirst Thinks Damien Hirst Makes too Much Money
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Thu, Nov 20, 2008 at 12:40 PM
He of the crystal skull and shark-in-formaldehyde and plagiarism lawsuits:
Damien Hirst has become the nation's biggest art export, transforming the global market with multimillion-pound works and earning his place as one of the world's most expensive living artists at auction. But now, just months after the success of a ground-breaking sale at Sotheby's that brought him nearly £100m, Hirst has described the art market as over-priced, and welcomed the prospect of selling his work at cheaper rates in the present climate of recession.
Was is this? The rich man sees everyone getting poorer and recognizes that he looks like a swollen bag of money?
The Great Depression happened before the popularization of therapy, sitcoms, Candid Camera, and the other million ways we've learned to look at ourselves.
Will this New Depression, which comes in the age of self-reflexivity, inspire a kind of empathetic slumming, in which the rich feel bad for being rich?
He also spoke of his desire to create more works in gold, following The Golden Calf, a bull in formaldehyde with 18-carat gold hooves and horns which he created for the Sotheby's sale.
(He obviously doesn't feel that bad.)
Via the Independent.
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1
Do people buy this stuff just to tell everyone else that they have enough money to blow millions on ugly, useless things? I don't get it. Your home is not beautified by a cow in formaldehyde.
3
His works are pretty interesting comments on the luxuries of the uber-wealthy, their valuing of a stinking corpse in formaldehyde if it's lined with gold and comes with an eight-figure price tag. Death is one thing - decay, anonymity, being turned back into prima materia - and life is another - locked in a cycle with each other, life grows out of and feeds off death, but must in turn be consumed by death. Formaldehyde cuts out the cycle, turns the natural into zombie-like artificial undead that will never fully return to nature.
Likewise, the uber-wealthy, especially the elderly rich NYers who are Sotheby's target customer group, jewel-bedecked and artificially preserved through miracles of modern medicine, identify quite strongly with this work.
Likewise, the uber-wealthy, especially the elderly rich NYers who are Sotheby's target customer group, jewel-bedecked and artificially preserved through miracles of modern medicine, identify quite strongly with this work.
4
1) Hirst bought a significant portion of his own art at the Sotheby's auction through a firm that he and some co-financiers set up. He is himself responsible for the inflated price of his own artwork.
2) There are two Hirst exhibits in Denver now and they are both quite wonderful. I know popular opinion dictates that Hirst is a devil, but I love his work.
2) There are two Hirst exhibits in Denver now and they are both quite wonderful. I know popular opinion dictates that Hirst is a devil, but I love his work.
5
I use to be kind of dubious towards Hirst and his ilk but than I came around to the realization that I like the fact that these ladies and gentlemen are tricking really rich people in to buying essentialy useless objects for ridiculous amounts of money. Than I realised that all Art is essentialy lacking in any utility and realized I love Art even more because of that, it's like some crazy magic trick.
Plus, I was in London last fall and visited the Tate and I just have to say, unexpectdly, a great white shark in a vitrine in formaldehyde is pretty fucking awesome.
Plus, I was in London last fall and visited the Tate and I just have to say, unexpectdly, a great white shark in a vitrine in formaldehyde is pretty fucking awesome.
6
As much as I think the guy is a fraud and a relentlessly self-promoting douche, I have to give him credit for exposing the hoax that is the modern art market.
7
@4: how long are the Hirst exhibits in town? I'm going to Denver for Thanksgiving and those would be worth checking out with my mom, if she hasn't been already.
8
One is here until the end of December and the other is here for a year. There aren't that many pieces exhibited (they are all large installations) but they are great. The galleries are here: MCA DENVER 1485 Delgany (303) 298-7554, and here: Gallery T 878-2 Santa Fe Drive (303) 893-0960. You are welcome.
9
I swear the shark in the Met in NYC has disintegrated considerably since they installed it a while back. I would like to be there when the fish wire (or whatever) cuts through the flesh and the corpse crashes to the bottom. Would it just go flat? would a huge cloud of filth spew out of his mouth? These are the kind of things I think of when I look at it.
But to me, this is one of those things where one is enough. When you start going through the the whole bestiaria one by own and add some golden hooves, your just milking it, if you will.
But to me, this is one of those things where one is enough. When you start going through the the whole bestiaria one by own and add some golden hooves, your just milking it, if you will.
10
@8: thank you very much. I like stopping by the MCA when I'm home anyway, so now I have more of a reason to.
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