Pickled Sharks and Diamond Skulls: The Art of Damien Hirst

By ⋅ April 3, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment
The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2012

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2012

British artist Damien Hirst opens his first major retrospective in London this week.

The Tate Modern gallery will showcase the work of the enfant terrible-turned-multi-millionaire featuring 70 works including classics like “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living”, a shark suspended in formaldehyde (pictured above).

Anchor Marco Werman speaks with the BBC’s Will Gompertz about the controversial artist.

Discussion

3 comments for “Pickled Sharks and Diamond Skulls: The Art of Damien Hirst”

  • Kira_Od_Sculptor

    If people worshipped wonder, they would get great art.  But because they worship money, this is what they get from so-called ”artists.”  Only the super-rich can afford Damien Hirst, and it’s because he’s made so much money that the Tate Modern is hosting his retrospective.  If you want things to change, don’t buy a Hirst and don’t go to the exhibit.  Nothing hurts an artist or a museum more than being ignored. 

    –Kira Od    http://www.kiraod.com

    • wrigleyart

      Why do things have to change?  If people want his art and are willing to pay for it, what does it matter to you or anyone else?  Everyone can still worship wonder, but that doesn’t have to relate to his form of art, and if people do find wonder in it also, good for them and him.

  • Kira_Od_Sculptor

    It matters because it is bad for art.  First, by calling what he does
    “art” without personally making any of it himself — not even the
    original for a mold or a print — he devalues works of art that are meaningful, intelligent, and
    handmade by artists possessing greater vision and more practiced skill than
    he.  Second, even though his work is
    provocative, his audacious prices generate far more wonder than his
    manufactured displays can keep up with. 
    Third, to accept Will Gompertz’ remark that Hirst’s pieces,
    “…create an emotional response, whether people like them or hate them,
    and that is the sign of a good artist,” is to confuse spectacle with
    art.  These are mistakes.  Whether they are accidental or deliberate is
    open to question, but whether they should be corrected is not.

    –Kira Od http://www.kiraod.com