Good Reads *

Fine Art

The important question to ask these days isn’t “Is it art?” but “Is it any good?”. And by “good”, I don’t mean technically accomplished, I mean able to convey its meaning, to get its point across. This is the point on which Hirst fails for me. It’s not a matter of taste, or of abstract considerations of artistic worth, it’s a question of whether the art works or not.

In view of this, it’s no surprise that Hirst’s greatest talents lie in self-promotion and the fact that he exists as a celebrity artist, in the same way that Lady Gaga is a celebrity musician.

I’m going to bet that as the years pass and the work of celebrity conceptualists like Damien Hirst is slowly shorn of the force of their personality and renown, interest in it will wane. It’ll remain in art texts and courses, and perhaps the subject of artistic debate, but ultimately it lacks the ability to connect with people. And that’s what makes art so important.

An excellent argument; and one with which I agree with wholeheartedly.

Dirty Durty Diary: Tom Hawking’s State of the Art: Damien Hirst.