"For the Love of God" , by Damien Hirst
| Damien Hirst's For The Love of God follows the tradition of the "memento mori", a widely varied historic genre of artistic expression which admonishes the viewer about the fleeting nature of human life and the inevitability and finality of death. In Hirst's rendering of the theme, the diamond-encrusted head seems to be mocking the viewer and the world at large for placing such high value on the materials from which it is made. The piece is striking and eerily beautiful, but the beauty is the cold and soulless beauty of materialism. Conspicuously absent is any suggestion of love, life, spirituality or humanity. Thus it can and probably should be seen primarily as a comment on the decline of human and perhaps artistic values that can result from too much emphasis on materialism. Some have even suggested that it points an accusing finger at the diamond industry for human rights abuses that have come to light in recent years, and others go so far as to see in it a self-parody and a thinly-veiled indictment of capitalism in general. |
$100 Million Artwork
Love of God "
Damien Hirst's $100 Million Artwork, and his Rise to Super-stardom in the world of contemporary art
In June 2007, British Conceptual Artist Damien Hirst unveiled his latest creation, For The Love of God , a dazzling piece consisting of the life-sized platinum cast of an actual human skull completely covered with 8,601 pave-set diamonds estimated to be worth as much as 15 million pounds (approx. $30 Million U.S.). In the middle of the forehead is a large, pink diamond weighing 52.4 carats and said to be worth 4 million pounds alone.
The piece was put on display at London's White Cube Gallery with a price tag of 50 million pounds (about $100 million U.S.), and sold for the full price ten weeks later to a group of investors which included the White Cube Gallery and Hirst himself. Part of the deal was that the buyers would display the work in major galleries for the following two years. Although Hirst's share was reportedly 24%, the total price of the sale made it the most expensive piece of art ever sold by a living artist.
Hirst's rise to stardom is almost legendary. It began while he was still a student at London's Goldsmiths College in 1988. An enterprising promoter, he gained sponsorship from the London Docklands Development Corporation and organized an independent student exhibit called Freeze in an empty docklands warehouse. The show's curious visitors included Nicolas Serota, director of the Tate Gallery and
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