In the everlasting debate about what exactly makes something art and who can be considered a true artist, here is Damien Hirst! In 2008, this British artist persuaded the dealers at Sotheby’s to sell 223 of his newest (at the time) artworks. And did they sell! Despite the world financial crisis that was unfolding at this time, the two-day sale of Hirst’s artwork brought in a total of $200.7 million dollars. What did the lucky buyers purchase? Well… “There were dead animals – sharks, zebras, piglets and even a calf – floating in giant glass tanks of formaldehyde; cabinets filled with diamonds; and cigarette butts. And paintings galore: spin paintings, spot paintings, paintings with butterflies pinned under glass.” There are some pretty interesting things on that list, if I do say so myself.
And now the artist is cooking up something new (well, sort of). Hirst recently started producing spot paintings again, and in want of a space to display them in, he has persuaded the gallery owner Larry Gagosian to let him take over all eleven of his galleries for a spot-painting retrospective. The exhibition is set to run from January 12th through February 18th. It will include approximately 200 works, spanning 20 years, from collections in 20 countries. Less than one-third of the show will be for sale but gallery officials say it is still too early to negotiate prices for those artworks included. The author of this article in the New York Times is already forecasting “a hailstorm of criticism” for the spot show, but the 46-year-old artist is so used to such criticisms that he doesn’t seem to mind.
The retrospective is something that he has always wanted to do, and he cites his father as the inspiration for this particular style of art (or not art?). Interestingly enough, though, of the hundreds of spot canvases that will be on display, Damien Hirst painted only five himself and employed other people to paint the rest for him. Why then, does he get the credit, if he’s not the one who was holding the paintbrush? Is it because he came up with the idea? If this is the case, then shouldn’t his father be getting at least some of the credit, since he was the one who first started painting spots on the doors of their home? Of course, all of this is assuming that these meticulously painted spots can even be considered art (and I’m sure there are those in the class who will not consider them as such).
Personally, while I don’t quite understand how it works that Hirst gets the credit while his assistants do all the actual labor, I do think the spots have some merit. They can definitely evoke some interesting thoughts. The artist actually sums it up perfectly when he says, “They’re quite hard to look at. Superficially they’re happy paintings, but then there is this underlying uneasiness. You lose your boundaries because they are hard to focus on. Do you focus on the grid or the individual spots or the painting as a whole? Once you start really looking, you get lost.” Basically, they can make a person go a little spotty. And if this is the artist’s intention for his artwork, then whose to say that it doesn’t deserve a place in the museum and gallery world?
Don’t forget to categorize.
This piece is certainly difficult to look at. Staring at it for too long makes me dizzy, so I do not understand why anyone would want to spend $200.7 million dollars on a to hang a collection like this on their wall. But maybe this is how money has ruined art…
The piece actually reminds me of a painting on display at the MOMA– Piet Mondrian’s famous Broadway Boogie Woogie (1942-1943). At first glance, the painting appears to be a random mosaic of intersecting lines and blocks of primary colors. Although not quite as dizzying as Damien Hirst’s piece, Broadway Boogie Woogie is not exactly pleasing to the eyes. And both pieces are definitely abstract. I am still unclear as to Hirst’s actual intention in creating his art, other than to make it difficult for the viewer to stare at for an extended period of time. Mondrian’s objective, on the other hand, was to create a piece that would abstractly represent the city of New York and jazz simultaneously. He created the intersecting lines to run each other like the city’s grid and the blotches of color were made to express the rhythm of jazz. And he even created his work all by himself!
It certainly is mind-boggling how Damien Hirst’s work can rake in $200.7 million in two days. And to think that he did not even created all of it! If only the art of Occupy Wall Street could raise that much money in that much time…
I like this blog post. It speaks of the idea with dots with a very great clarity. I had a lot of trouble in the beginning appreciating art pieces like this. Now many of them make a lot more sense. For example here, I see that the dots are being used in two different ways. They collectively say something and as individuals express a completely different idea. The intention of the artist is not to make his viewer feel the emotions he feels but to bring to surface some kind of a clear emotion. The awakening of these emotions and thoughts that come to you while staring at the dots brings credibility to his work.
In the past few months an artist’s work has greatly influenced me. His name is John McCracken. He explored the idea of using a single color in his art. He believes in using texture, space and monochrome in his work. It helps him express a wide variety of emotions, intentions and meanings in different ways. He is a believer in Geometric precision. If you have ever been to the MoMa then you have probably noticed one of his major works. It’s call the “Absolute Naked Fragrance.” All it is is a 10ft tall pink slab leaned against a wall. At the first sight of his work I felt a rush of feminine power and the idea of being a powerful woman. I knew at once that I had to look into his work in greater detail to truly understand if I had grasped the idea.Today I believe I have and I appreciate his work. The artist passed away only this year and I wish to think of him as a legend.
http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=80766