The most expensive artist of our time is called a genius and a psycho. Obsessed with the aesthetic of death, he made 300 million euros by selling animal carcasses soaked in formaldehyde to collectors.
Death-related works are disgusting to many, but nevertheless exhibited in fashion galleries and go for fabulous money at auctions. The author, shocking with his works, was called "the fiend of art" (from the word art - "art"), which reflects his inner essence. One can have different attitudes towards the strange work of this provocateur from art, but it cannot be denied that his creations cause the strongest resonance.
Craving for the image of death
Damien Hirst was born in 1965 in the UK. The boy grew up disobedient, and after his father left the family, he completely strayed from the hands of a strict mother. He was even arrested for petty shoplifting.
An early talent for painting led the 21-year-old to Goldsmith College, which was considered highly innovative. It is believed that this is wherethe future artistic genius had an unusual craving for rethinking death. Hirst worked in not the most favorable times for creativity. In London, galleries were closed one after another, and unknown creators did not have a single chance to put their works on public display.
Meet the patron
When a college graduate was assigned to organize a vernissage, he was very concerned about the venue. Having chosen abandoned premises for the event, the young man did not fail. The exhibition was a success, and the work of Hirst and his classmates surprised the audience.
The next show took place in an abandoned factory, where a certain we althy collector came, dreaming of new interesting works. Seeing the installation of a young artist, which is a huge number of cardboard boxes, hand-painted with paints, the rich man was struck by the unusual composition. He offered the young talent cooperation for decent money and became his patron for many years.
Iconic installation
Damien Hirst, whose career rapidly went up after this acquaintance, creates another installation with a lot of money from the collector, which has become a landmark in his work. He understands that contemporary art is, first of all, an unusual idea, and bringing it to life is much more profitable than just painting.
Hirst was grateful to his patron, who explained to the ambitious novice artist that provocations are most valued.
The work, which was a hugean aquarium filled with formaldehyde instead of water brought the artist one of the most prestigious awards in the world.
Inside the vessel rested a dead shark more than four meters long, caught off the coast of Australia and personifying the impossibility of death. The work sold brought the author six and a half million pounds, and this was just the beginning.
Global Glory
Having gained instant fame in the country, Damien Hirst, whose biography is becoming a topic for discussion in the secular party, dreamed of worldwide fame. And she found it - after the Venice Biennale.
In 1993, the shocking master presented to the audience another variation on the theme of death, calling it "Separated mother and child." In two transparent aquariums were the dismembered bodies of a cow and a calf, which both frightened and fascinated at the same time. Visitors to the exhibition admitted that contemplation of such an unusual spectacle evoked a feeling of compassion and sympathy.
Another motif in the unusual work of the shocking artist are butterflies, which Hirst Damien considered a real symbol of death. The work provoked fierce criticism from animal advocates, who were outraged by the inappropriate behavior of the Briton. His installations with thousands of fluttering moths dying before the eyes of the audience were exhibited in a London gallery.
Most expensive piece
2007 is marked by the creation of a work that has become a symbol of creativity and big money, recognized as one of the most expensive in the world. Skull made fromplatinum, encrusted with diamonds, the number of which exceeds eight thousand. And in the center of the forehead, a huge pear-shaped pink stone stands out as a bright spot.
Skull with human teeth was bought for fifty million dollars. Damien Hirst considered that decorating death is an excellent reason not to be afraid of it and to come to terms with the inevitable.
Life and death
If we talk about outrageous sculptures and installations of the most expensive artist, then the theme of death is the main one in them. It carries the ideological load of the confrontation between the denial of death and its inevitability. “It is too hard for people to realize that it is impossible to live forever, and all my works are devoted to this thought. But this is not a gloomy view of the world. I want death to be an inspiration to my viewers,” Damien Hirst explained his position.
The artist's painting is devoid of this theme, with the exception of the "Kaleidoscopes" series, in which dead butterflies were glued to the canvas, creating the most amazing patterns.
Hirst is proud of his abstract works, consisting of multi-colored circles, the shades of which are not repeated. Each painting bears the name of a narcotic or stimulant drug.
Source of idea
Scandalous artist Damien Hirst has recently been accused of not creating all his creations himself. Many assistants work for him, producing eccentric works on a massive scale. An influential person in the art world said that he was physically present at birthof all works and is the source of the idea, so its authorship is undeniable. And the creative process, according to Hirst, is the concept, not the execution.
Awareness of the inevitability of one's own death
The artist who sings about death has never been afraid of it. He used drugs, as if he was trying to bring his end closer, teetering on the edge. Having made a bright and selling show out of human fears, Damien Hirst only once thought about the chosen path.
When his best friend died of a heart attack, the artist felt that he himself was mortal, experiencing real horror. He stopped experimenting on his life and devoted it to his common-law wife and children. Damien recognized the truth of his authoritarian mother, realizing that raising tomboyish bullies is a very difficult thing.
Creativity or money?
In 2008, Damien Hirst was officially recognized as the we althiest artist, gaining 110 million pounds at auction. His ambiguous works, evoking conflicting emotions, are exhibited in fashion galleries around the world and rise in price every year.
However, the outrageous artist claims that he is only interested in creativity for the sake of the people of the future, and not money or fame. Few people believe in his sincerity, because once he already announced his unwillingness to dismember the corpses of animals and expose them to the audience. However, at the next exhibition, he again presented inanimate flesh in formaldehyde, realizing that his provocative work is valuable today.
Money rulespeace
Damien Hirst, photos of whose works often appear on the pages of various art magazines, is so popular that other artists use his figure in their work. There is a well-known installation by a Spanish author depicting the suicide of a brilliant brawler.
Connoisseurs of Hirst's work believe that after his death, already expensive creations will rise in price several times.
And a well-known British critic concluded that our world, ruled by money, deserves just such an artist.
