Boneheadery
You have to give it to Damien Hirst, he really is a very modern artist.
I know it happened a few weeks ago, but it has been playing around in my head, my skull, since then… but his rather aggressive actions towards the teenage artist, Cartrain, just seems so out of proportion.
For thopse of you with linkophobia, I’ll summarise – Cartrain creates collages (amongst other things) and sells them for a very modest price over the internet. They’re very good. However, one particular piece featured a photograph of Damien Hirst’s ‘For The Love of God’… you know, the cast skull encrusted in diamonds.
Upon noticing this, Hirst threated to sue the kid and demanded that he handed over the original artwork as well as the money made from it (£200).
Harsh, no?
What I can’t figure out is why a multi-millionaire artist who has built his career ripping off images, as is the post-modern way, would have such a reaction.
It can’t be about the money, surely. We know Hirst laid off some of his ‘workers’ before Christmas… shortly after selling off a hundred million pounds, or so, worth of his work.
So, maybe it is all about copyright and images… but wait, as I said, Hirst ‘borrows’ as many of his ideas as any other artist. The Stuckists maintain that he used the shark idea after seeing one in a fishing tackle shop and even his former friend, John LeKay, believes he had the Skull idea first.
It just seems a little, and I’m going to say it, hypocritical.
But that’s not what bothers me. I’m hypocritical, all artists are… no, what bothers me is that Mr Hirst had a great opportunity to foster the development of a young artist, for free, just by giving his approval. That is, rather than threaten court action against a child (sorry Cartrain, I’m using ‘child’ for dramatic effect… ‘young man’ just sounds creepy), he could have made a positive impact on the development of another British artist… although I suppose in a way he has.
He could have bought the work himself, if only to destroy it.
You missed a beat, Hirst.
Tut tut… I hadn’t heard about that. Poor kid — although, all of the publicity around this might be worth a good deal more than two hundred quid. I don’t think I’d mind the threat of a lawsuit and a lot of media attention, so long as people were talking about my art.
That’s an idea… anyone want to sue me? I’ll promise to sue back, if you want.
What does Hirst do that actually makes sense. He probably did it because it was the strange thing to do, he knew that it would get publicity, and hey, like Roo said, I’d feel pretty cool if i was that kid too. But damn, what a wacko.
Talking of art, I was looking t this:
http://indiesacramento.blogspot.com/2008/12/urban-graffiti-art.html
Very cool stuff indeed.
Thanks! a little craft graffiti never hurts.
A great publicity move for both of them.
If Hirst is really being malignant, then he stands to lose more then the other fellow.
Happy New Year every one!!!!!!!!
Did you know hirst artistic style is descendant of the dadists and pop artists [don't question me i spent 8 months researching this fact for a disseration] and apparently so does Cartrain. As xsome of you may know Dada artists and later the Pop Artists sought to consciously overthrow all the classical preconceived notions about what art should be and to do this they turned the mundane into the magnificent.
sorry i thought i’d throw my history of art knowledge out there
anyway hirst deserves a major boot up the arse does he not? he made a solid gold sculpture of kate moss…WHY???? i don’t like the actual kate moss why would i want a golden statue of her!?!?!
Oh man, I remember that ordeal. I hate Hirst anyway. His idea of art is pickling perfectly good animals until they reach the stage of inedibility….why would I enjoy just looking at artwork that could’ve been a perfectly tasty lunch? And the skull? Man, what must Hirst’s thought processes be like (That is, aside from “Hmm, he’s had a good idea, I’ll just nab that”);
“Hmm. A skull.Covered in pickling juices! No, no, not morbid enough. Jewels! Yes, jewels! And I’ll call it “Shiny skull” oh wait, that won’t upkeep with my deep, tought-provoking artist image. I’ll call it “Morbidity blah blah skulls jewels blah death”
I totally just got in his head. Consider it revenge for the poor kid he ripped off.