Damien Hirst: On The Way To Work

Like it or not, Damien Hirst is on top. Currently in his mid 40s, he has well surpassed Jasper Johns as the wealthiest living artist, and any discussion about excesses in art in either content or collection revolves around him. Last year, Hirst and his business manager, Frank Dunphy, bypassed the gallery system (which already worked on only 10% commission for Hirst) by having their works sold directly to collectors through Sotheby's. Despite the economic downturn, the 223 "new" works (many of them were recreations of old favorites... 5 sharks in tanks and 83 new butterfly collages) sold for nearly $200,000,000 dollars, exceeding expectations. One piece, the Golden Calf, an animal with 18-carat gold horns preserved in formaldehyde, sold for 10.3 million pounds. Not dollars, pounds. And I'm not even going to go into the whole diamond encrusted skull thing.

On The Way To Work is a collection of 12 interviews between Hirst and longtime friend Gordon Burn, spanning the years 1992 to 2000. The words are raw and off the cuff, with plenty of cursing and drinking stories in the mix. Sprinkled throughout the text are beautiful images of Hirst's artwork (including his terrible early assemblages), and candid photos from his childhood in Leeds and student years at Goldsmiths, University of London. At over 200 pages, it still is a quick read. More so than almost any other text based art book I've come across.

The interviews are casual, which gives a look at a celebrity without his guard up. The topics cover fame, money, the use of the art scene as a participant in the work, his own rise with the help of collector Charles Saatchi, his obsession with death, the work of Francis Bacon (whom Hirst considers the greatest artist of the 20th century), how to get a shark, the young British artists, and all other topics along those lines. Hirst upholds his anti-intellectual persona, but still comes across as deathly serious about art and its place in society.

Sure, Hirst can often come across as an asshole, and contradicts himself on more than one occasion, but in the end these things help to present him as, above all else, fearless. To speak with passion and certainty in the face of the likelihood of proving yourself wrong is admirable. When it is mixed with a bit of barroom charm and a sincere passion for the subject it is hard to not be enthralled. Nobody likes an asshole, but it can be admirable to see someone who is not afraid of being an asshole when it comes to express his opinions. 

The most interesting passages of the book are Hirst's discussion of his "color dot" paintings... more specifically how these paintings are made by others. When one of his many assistants wanted one of these paintings (that she had painted) as a gift, Hirst refused. His argument was that if she wanted the painting for its aesthetic value, she could paint one for herself. It was the fact that the painting was "a Hirst" that made her want it. She wanted the value of his signature, not the painting itself, which her own hand had created. The honesty and frankness in this discussion is refreshing. The issue of who is manufacturing the artwork of famous artists is rarely discussed, least of all by the artists themselves. And it is hard for Hirst not to look like an asshole in this situation, but he talks very openly about it. Fearless.

The book ends with the sale of Hymn, a giant bronze reproduction of an anatomical toy, which sold for a million pounds (and Hirst was later sued over). This is towards the beginning of his relationship with Frank Dunphy, which is a whole groundbreaking and heartbreaking saga in itself... One that is still being written. With the more recent sales of Hirst's restaurant decor as original works of art (a thing that, in the book, Hirst swore would not happen), and the continual upping of the ante with collectors, dealers, precious materials, and animal carcasses, it is clear that the timeline covered in On The Way To Work is just the beginning.

One The Way To Work is a fantastic read. It is insightful, unscripted, and fascinating. "Great art is when you come across an object and you have a fundamental, personal, one-to-one relationship with it, and you understand something you didn't already understand about what it means to be alive." I highly recommend this book for anybody into Hirst's work, or anybody who likes reading about artwork and the art business in general. 

The book has a retail price of $50, and can be found online for a bit less with some looking. There are also several other books of Hirst's artwork out there. 

I also encourage you to read more about the relationship of Hirst with Frank Dunphy in this article from the Wall Street Journal online: The Man Behind Damien Hirst.