Sunday, September 27, 2015

The shark turned green and wrinkled ...


From: dailymail.co.uk; via YL on Facebook

Saatchi offered Hirst a £50,000 commission to do whatever he liked and the result was the famous shark in formaldehyde in a giant glass cabinet (pictured), which he called The Physical Impossibility Of Death In The Mind Of Someone Living — a pretentious title that impressed the gullible.

Sir Nicholas Serota, (right), seen here with Hirst (left), has used his power as head of the Tate galleries to promote talentless self-publicists and to encourage the proliferation of the ugly and the pointless
Sir Nicholas Serota, (right), seen here with Hirst (left), has used his power as head of the Tate galleries to promote talentless self-publicists and to encourage the proliferation of the ugly and the pointless

There was a setback for Saatchi when a fin fell off, the liquid went murky and the shark turned green and wrinkled. But his curators skinned it, got rid of the decomposing body and stretched the skin over a fibreglass mould and it was sold to an American collector for around $12 million. 

Hirst followed up the shark by having a dead cow and calf  split in two and exhibited in separate glass containers. He then diversified into dead sheep, and there was publicity beyond price when an exhibit featuring a rotting cow and bull was banned by New York public health officials.

Controversial: The Enfant terrible of the modern art world has caused a fuss with some of his work including Away From The Flock, pictured
Controversial:Hirst has caused a fuss with some of his work which involves the preserving of dead animals in formaldehyde, including Away From The Flock, pictured


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239504/As-prices-Damien-Hirsts-works-plummet-pity-credulous-saps-spent-fortunes-tosh.html#ixzz3mvEwEGUy
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