Artist's Essay by Damien Hirst

One of the most gifted artists in British history is Damien Hirst. His approach to painting, however, is unusual and perplexes many, leading them to wonder if his creations are genuine or only illusions. Damien's work obviously takes a severe approach to humor, but at least everyone can agree that he clearly and obviously distinguishes between the desired and the undesirable (Hirst 33). This has led to a significant assumption that the majority of his works may have been influenced by outside factors, such as biological, physiological, or psychological forces. Essentially, this claim seems to be true, and this is something which can be attested to his many artistic works.

From a simple perspective, Damien's works seem to be evoking some emotional feelings, and as it is the case, emotions are only preserved to human beings and animals, which explains the biological aspects pegged on his works. Ideally, his works are both captivating and provocative (Hirst 35). Amazingly, Damien believes that his works are successful when they disturb or shocks the public, and this is exactly what he has been concentrating on over the years. Again, most of his works have been revolving around the theme of death, and for sure, death is a biological issue which is only reserved for human beings, animals, or plants. Nevertheless, to demonstrate that his works still revolve around biological issues, it is an evident fact that his primary intention is to disturb or shock the public, which again points to the issue of biological, physiological, and psychological influences.

Over the years, Damien has been seen as an individual who strives to bring out the humor in death and consistently urging people not to fear death. Nevertheless, his works heavily rely on metaphors and analysts believe that it is the metaphors which give his work clear meaning. From most of his works, one can easily conclude that he holds an opinion that death is a very heavy topic, therefore, it would be good if people could laugh in its face (Martins & Damasio 31). Another important thing to note about Damien's approach to the subject of death is how playful he gets with the themes. The themes bring out an impression that even though death is very cruel and affects people's emotions, it would be necessary to laugh, after all, there is nothing which can be done to stop death.

Damien Hirst's, "For the Love of God", 2007.



Figure 1: "For the Love of God," the Artsy, by Damien Hirst, December 4, 2017. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/damien-hirst-for-the-love-of-god-the-diamond-skull



The art consists of a sculpture of a human being which dates back to the eighteenth century, however, Damien recreated the skull by encrusting it with over 8,000 diamonds. He names the art, "For the Love of God," following his mother's exasperated comments on his works, "For the Love of God, what are you going to do next?" In real life situation, the skull symbolizes mortality, and according to Damien, it should be acting as a constant reminder on the fact that every one of us will die, and there is no need to fear death (Martins & Damasio 42). Furthermore, the art acts a warning to people, for instance, he encrusted the skull with expensive diamond to warn against greed which according to him has been affecting the media, corporate world, and celebrities.

Unfortunately, Damien kept of wondering why people had to scramble for material things and forget that they will all die at some point and leave the things they scrambled for while alive. The work also dwells on other important themes like life, religion, decay, and reflection. These themes are closely attached to the biological aspect of life, in fact, it is only human beings who can reflect on their lives, they form and worship in religions, and ultimately, they die and decay (Hirst 46). Interestingly, Damien's work on the human skull has drawn a lot of controversy from art lovers and within the public domain, whenever this art is displayed emotions are evoked and people often ask themselves why he chose human skull instead of anything else.

Over the years, viewers have argued that the art gives profound information on the subject of death. Indeed, the skull gives a clear and practical view on the issue of death, in fact, it could be very difficult to present effective and emotionally binding information on how people should view life or death without a visible component on the same (Martins & Damasio 57). However, Damien has consistently argued that people have misunderstood his art but does not regret, he still believes that whatever he intended has been communicated though in a different manner. The skull attracts varied emotions and understandings from viewers, however, what remains profound is that everyone is subject to death despite how they live. In conclusion, death is bold, cruel, and faces each one of us, therefore, Damien believes that the only thing people can do now is to laugh it off. People should not be scared to death, it makes life miserable but people should be fully aware that at one time they will die. The ideas passed on by Damien resonates well with the biological aspect of life.





Works Cited

Hirst, Damien. Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable: One Hundred Drawings. Miami,

Florida: Other Criteria, 2017, Print.

Martins, Constantino & Manuel, Damasio. Seduction in Popular Culture, Psychology, and

Philosophy. Hershey: IGI Global, 2016, Print.