Damien Hirst, Take 2

 I've been watching some videos about Damien Hirst in an effort to assess his work impartially.   As you may have noticed, I've gone into previous posts with a negative frame of mind without really having looked at a lot of his work (see "One Total Tosser" and "Damien Hirst")

So, here's a link to a video of Hirst walking through his 2012 exhibition in the Tate with the show's curator, Ann Gallagher:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWSb9QMlLoQ

Quite a decent way of getting a quick overview of Hirst's work.  Hirst doesn't say anything profound. To me, he always looks a little bemused that people are taking him seriously (which I think is understandable).

And here's a link to a  review of his solo show in Doha, called "Relics", which took place in the Qatar  Museum of Art between 10 October 2013 and 22 January 2014:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvdqtA85zTA

Pass the sick bag:  Hirst can do no wrong according to this video.

Finally, here's Jon Snow interviewing  Nancy Durrant, art critic for The Times newspaper, and Julian Spalding, the ex-curator (and possible wind-bag) who views Damien Hirst as a con-artist (see my previous post): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iNhCQlZMpc

 Durrant accepts that quite a lot of Hirst's work will not go down in history as significant works of art.  She refers to his spot paintings as "wall paper".  However, she thinks Hirst's "A Thousand Years" installation - the cow's head and the flies - will be considered a masterpiece by future generations. 

Personally, I find "A Thousand Years" rather puerile.   OK: it makes you think of life and death but it does it in a very clumsy way in my opinion.

Also, as with most "conceptual art", I can't help wondering why anybody would want to own it.  A Thousand Years isn't something you'd want to put in your house.   Yet if it's meant to make you meditate then a crowded art gallery isn't an appropriate environment for it either.

Durrant's most significant quote: "I don't know a single artist that's influenced by him."

Yes.  I don't see any depth in Hirst's work.   Compare him with Grayson Perry who makes really profound observations and uses subtle ways of expressing them in his art using lots of references to other artists' work.

UPDATE:  Here's a link to a post by the Guardian's Jonathan Jones, on his low opinion of Hirst's paintings:

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2014/may/20/faking-fortune-damien-hirst-paintings-art-florida-pastor-jailed