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“The world's an ugly place; you need to brighten it up whenever you can.”
Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst left Goldsmith’s College in London in 1989 with a clear-eyed vision of his future. He had a list of the people he needed to court, a strong sense of his own identity ( a Mockney accent and a penchant for wearing black and white) and a few reheated ideas from the likes of Duchamp and Warhol. Now, with his enormous exhibition currently at Tate Modern we can all see how it's turned out.
I think one description of Hirst which is highly relevant is “the artist we deserve”. He is the artist of the Ikea generation, the credit bubble, the age of celebrity – his work is quick, slick, sometimes beautiful and available in virtually every size and colour. Like Andy Warhol he embraced a “factory” approach – the endless spot paintings, for example, churned out by teams of painters and then by digital print - but, unlike Warhol, had little or no involvement in the final work. A signed, mechanically printed, reproduction of one of these extremely arms-length masterpieces can be yours for £20,000. (That’s right – a piece of paper which has been run through a computer printer of an image Damien didn’t paint will cost you twenty grand). And there it is: the point every conversation about him arrives at - Hirst equals money.
Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst left Goldsmith’s College in London in 1989 with a clear-eyed vision of his future. He had a list of the people he needed to court, a strong sense of his own identity ( a Mockney accent and a penchant for wearing black and white) and a few reheated ideas from the likes of Duchamp and Warhol. Now, with his enormous exhibition currently at Tate Modern we can all see how it's turned out.
I think one description of Hirst which is highly relevant is “the artist we deserve”. He is the artist of the Ikea generation, the credit bubble, the age of celebrity – his work is quick, slick, sometimes beautiful and available in virtually every size and colour. Like Andy Warhol he embraced a “factory” approach – the endless spot paintings, for example, churned out by teams of painters and then by digital print - but, unlike Warhol, had little or no involvement in the final work. A signed, mechanically printed, reproduction of one of these extremely arms-length masterpieces can be yours for £20,000. (That’s right – a piece of paper which has been run through a computer printer of an image Damien didn’t paint will cost you twenty grand). And there it is: the point every conversation about him arrives at - Hirst equals money.
The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living by Damien Hirst (1991)
But is that all? I don't think so. Nearly every idea Hirst has put before us has some merit: facing a shark head on is to go some way towards imagining your own death, the soothing colours of sleeping pills in a medicine cabinet invokes the lethal attraction of endless sleep, a hypnotic mandala of butterfly wings leaves you stunned by the glory of nature. But. for me at least, once the first thrill is gone there is just the dull emptiness of repetition and the distant ringing of a till.
I would certainly advise anyone who wants to see a terrific lesson in the history of modern art to go Tate Modern and see Hirst’s artistic life on show. Its on till September and you may be moved in ways you don’t expect.
Most artists want to make a living out of our art but most of us are driven by the urge, the joy, the obsession of creativity - by the constant refrain that there is more to say and a better way to say it. I feel, however, that all poor old Damien has driving him onward these days is the empty thrill of a full wallet.
Damien Hirst's Solo Exhibition is at Tate Modern, Bankside, London from 4 April 2012 – 9 September 2012
I would certainly advise anyone who wants to see a terrific lesson in the history of modern art to go Tate Modern and see Hirst’s artistic life on show. Its on till September and you may be moved in ways you don’t expect.
Most artists want to make a living out of our art but most of us are driven by the urge, the joy, the obsession of creativity - by the constant refrain that there is more to say and a better way to say it. I feel, however, that all poor old Damien has driving him onward these days is the empty thrill of a full wallet.
Damien Hirst's Solo Exhibition is at Tate Modern, Bankside, London from 4 April 2012 – 9 September 2012
A comment by Banksy on Damien Hirst's spots.
Thinking here of Pharmacy where I think the viewer is invited to draw a comparison between the shift in faith for many people away from the divine and onto the healing (mind & body) effects of pills and drugs. We’re all familiar with the long list inside every packet of prescription drugs of possible side effects, and that by taking the 'cure' we must have faith in its results. Personally I think it would be useful to have two folded up sheets of paper in each packet of pills - one for pessimists as described above and one for optimists, perhaps with a nice sunny picture to indicate the potential for good health.
Anyway back to Damien Hirst, 'The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living' - the Shark installation, must give one the opportunity to consider your own life and death, perhaps a salutary thing and worth everyone doing (can be tricky outside of church – see above!), if only to re-calibrate our potential /opportunity & means for doing good.
I think that DH has a propensity for dwelling on life and death, but then why not they are conditions that effect us all. Money or rather value is also important in art, since many people judge static creative works by their price tags, which is of course lazy and foolish, but one which we can all be guilty of. His much publicised skull decorated with diamonds titled 'For The Love of God' is a good example of this, creating a work of art out of the shell of a human head and decorated with 'priceless' gemstones. This does make an interesting statement that couldn't be done as successfully with cheaper materials, and since he can afford it why not. It’s funny to imagine the type of person that would like this in their private collection and consider their motivations.
It is regrettable that the majority of his work is a team effort, but this shouldn't reduce the importance of his work at this time any more that we downgrade the work produced in the Venetian workshops in the sixteenth century of an aritist like Titian. Personally I think the sycophantic responses from some of his peers and critics over the years, have produced some unhealthy cases of the ‘Emperors New Clothes’in some of his own and the amongst some of the works from rest of YBA. But art is so subjective and that's what I like.
I also think that the prices put on Hirst's works are ridiculous, however it's doubtful that Damian Hirst has created these prices, rather the machinations of the wider 'art market' (Charles Saatchi etc). His amazing personal coup and the solid foundation of his wealth when he bypassed traditional dealers and his works achieved record prices hours before the stock market crash brought on by the fall of Lehmann Brothers investment bank, should, I think be treated in retrospect as a piece of performance art. Seeing clips on the recent channel 4 documentary the other night, did nothing to change my view on this - the whole thing looked surreal.
I suppose that what keeps his prices so high is the general feeling that if they levelled off to more normal and comparative prices a lot of wealthy people might find themselves a little poorer and I'm sure they won't want that. I think the prices are too high and the example of the printed sheet for £20,000 is plainly ridiculous. But, we can't blame just Damian for this - if the market wasn't there then he couldn't ask such a price. I’d be surprised if say Jackson Pollack’s values have dropped (though I haven’t looked).
I fully agree that given the opportunity it would be time well spent to visit the current exhibition and hope I get chance. I think that at the end of the day if he has produced something that sticks in your mind as a pertinent observation on the current human condition, the moral and aritistic life of today, then his work has been worthwhile and has some meaning. It may well be a short chapter in the history of art (esp. in the West), time will tell. It would be interesting to see how his work is considered in say fifty years. Thanks for prompting my thoughts.