Pop (Art) Will Eat Itself - Review - Damien Hirst at Tate Modern

On Saturday I took myself up to London, and one of the purposes was to visit the Damien Hirst retrospective at Tate Modern.

Hirst is an artist who divides opinion - not least in my own mind. Having only seen a limited amount of his work "in the flesh" this was a chance to review his oeuvre and, perhaps, revise my ambivalent opinion of his work. It was also a chance to see some of the pieces that I've most wanted to see - the famous pieces and also "Away From The Flock" which I missed when it was part of "The British Art Show 4" in 1995.

Billed as "the first substantial survey of his work in a British institution" the exhibition is a blockbuster. It cover his earliest work - found objects such as saucepans painted in household gloss, a ping-pong ball balanced on the airjet from a hairdryer to the later works sold directly by auction by Sotheby's in 2008.

Hirst's work is obsessed with opposites - life and death, attraction and repulsion, beauty and ugliness. Indeed, he is quoted as saying:

"Life and death are the biggest polar opposites there are. I like love and I like hate... I like all these opposites. On and off. Happy and sad. In an artwork I always try to say something and deny it at the same time."

The major pieces are all present and correct - "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living" (aka Shark in Formaldehyde) and Mother and Child Divided, which I have wanted to see for years amongst others. "A Thousand Years" - a two chambered' Vitrine in which flies hatch from maggots, feed on a severed cow's head and either live out their lives or die in an insectroctor - was another work which I had only previously seen on television. These pieces didn't disappoint, and neither did the spin paintings which have a certain joie de vivre in their "composition".

His spot paintings did disappoint, however, and I'm not sure why - I've liked them in the past but was underwhelmed on this occasion. Perhaps seeing them in large quantities meant I wasn't able to appreciate the individual pieces. The series of Medicine Cabinets - in which Hirst presents a series of filled cabinets each named after a track from The Sex Pistol's album "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" also left me cold. By contrast, "Lullaby, The Seasons" (four large steel display cabinets with mirrored background and lots of replica pills) is a beautiful work.

The exhibition also re-creates some of Hirst's installations, including a twin work ("In and Out of Love") featuring butterflies on brightly painted canvases in one room and a subsequent room where butterflies hatch from pupae attached white canvases. Another installation was "Pharmacy" in which Hirst returns to the use of Medicine Cabinets but on a much larger scale.

The exhibition moves on to rooms featured display cabinets with surgical equipment, taking his earlier obsessions with medicine to a new level, his beautiful butterfly pictures (creating the look of stained glass windows with butterfly wings) and  one containing the fascinating "Black Sun" made from dead flies and resin. The latter rooms feature hugely commercial, blinged up versions of his earlier works - revisiting old themes but with a larger budget and an eye on larger profit margins. 

Hirst's art is about controversy and commercialism. For all my scepticism about the made-for-market work, I still bought the exhibition catalogue on my way out. Therein is Hirst's power - to make attractive the repugnant and to make commercial the controversial. My ambivalence about his work may remain but now he (or at least the Tate) have some of my money too. I'll leave you to decide who was the winner in that particular equation.

The exhibition is on at Tate Modern until 9 September 2012. It won't be to everyones taste but is a must-see for anyone interested in British Art of the last 20 years. Tickets are based on fixed entry-time periods, so it is probably best to book in advance.

Andrew

A True Brit

In many respects Jessica Ennis has been the poster girl of this Olympic Games - and she's repaid that in style with a series of personal bests in the individual Heptathlon events and a British Record overall. Indeed - she made sure of the record - and put on a show for the crowd - by running the fastest time in the 800m even though she had no need too.

But if Jess Ennis has been the poster-girl, Tom Daley has been the poster-boy man. From a 14 year old boy in Beijing, he has carried medal hopes for this games through the past 4 years. He's had to grow up very publicly and has had the personal tragedy of his father's death played out in a very public arena. Next week, is has chance to shine; if he does his best he can take Gold, but if he doesn't we still shouldn't belittle his achievements - and I hope the press remember this.

But this post is about another, undersung, hero of British athletics - and a man whose story deserves to be celebrated.

Mo Farah arrived in the UK at the age of 8, a member of a family of refugees fleeing conflict in Somalia. Settling in West London, Mo took up running at school and was spotted by a PE teacher who encouraged him - although initially his ambition was to play right-back for Arsenal. At 13, he entered the an English Schools Cross Country. After finishing 9th that year, he entered again the following year and won the first of what would be 5 medals. 

After a number of years competing as a junior - which included winning the 5,000m European Athletics Junior Championships - he moved onto the Senior circuit in 2005. He concentrated on the track races - winning silver in the 5.000m at the 2006 Europeans - although he won the European Cross Country Championship in same year.

Less successful events followed in the next couple of years including a disappointing Olympics  in Beijing when he didn't make the 5,000m finals. Since then, he has collected Gold Medals in European for both 5,000m and 10,000m and World Championship Gold for the 5,000m  and Silver for the 10,000m.

Whilst he trains in the States, and is coached by Cuban-American Alberto Salazer, a former American record holder at both 5k and 10k as well as being an accomplished Marathon runner. While he may have been born in Somalia and train in the U.S., there is no mistaking than when he runs, he runs for Britain.

Last night, in the wake of becoming the first British man ever to win the Olympic 10,000m, a journalist asked him if he'd rather be racing for Somalia. The Huffington Post reports the story:

"When asked in a press conference if he'd have preferred to run as a Somali, he said to the journalist: "Look mate, this is my country.”

Farah added: "This is where I grew up, this is where I started life. This is my country and when I put on my Great Britain vest I'm proud. I'm very proud.

"The support I got today was unbelievable. I couldn't believe it. It was the best moment of my life.

"If it wasn't for the crowd and people shouting out my name, cheering and putting the Union Jack up, I don't think it would have happened.

"To win the Olympics in the place you grew up and went to school just means so much to me.""

Hear! Hear!

Mo is testament to a modern Britain, a place where a refugee child can find a home, a skill and achieve his dreams. Although not the one about playing for Arsenal - that dream has been left for someone else to achieve.

Hats of to Jess and all our medallists and competitors - but two hats off to Mo and his achievements. He makes me proud to be British.

Andrew


P.S. Never mind Olympic Gold though, I didn't know until today that Farah had taken on and beaten The Cube, too:

5 on the 5th - Summer Reprise

Stephen has dusted off 5 on the 5th for a Summer Special!

My photos are from my trip up to London yesterday. I wanted to try and soak up some of the Olympic atmosphere, see the Damien Hirst exhibition (review to follow at some point), and take the Cable Car across the Thames from Greenwich.

I succeeded in two of those aims and also met my Uncle, Sister and Brother-in-Law for drinks and a lovely meal. An enjoyable day which has generated stories a few family stories - thanks to my lateness in meeting the others and then a trek across the Greenwich peninsula.

Anyway, my pictures of the day have an Olympic theme. It was ironic that the very day I was in London, I was least in touch with what was happening - doubly ironic given that it was a record-breaking day!

Buckingham Palace ahead of the Woman's Triathlon and Men's 20K walk

The Mall

Hyde Park - Who'd have thought Triathlon would be so popular?!

Olympic Rings (with St. Paul's behind)

Arty Wenlock

Andrew

Desert Island Discs - What Would You Choose?

I've previously blogged about my love of Desert Island Discs, Radio 4's long running interview programme in which guests choose eight tracks they would choose to have with them if they were stranded on a desert island.

Guests are normally people who have achieved greatness or recognition in their field and are not always public figures or celebrities. As such, it can be a fascinating window on the lives of others - and what drives and motivates our top scientists, academics, artists, politicians and authors (for example).

Music choices are most often chosen to remind guests of people in their lives, or particular times and/or places. Occasionally someone will do something different, like James Ellroy who chose five tracks by Beethoven! Some guests have even chosen their own works, which is rather narcissistic! 

Stephen over at the state of the nation UK is currently in the process of revealing his choices, decided to represent different periods of his life and presented chronologically. His first choice was Don McLean's American Pie, which he shares with four previous guests on the show. His second, by Slade, has not previously been chosen!

Whatever you think of his first two choices, he's encouraging others to join him in sharing - and I've started on my list for publication soon!

Andrew

NOW! That's What I Call A Tune! 43

I could have chosen In Our Lifetime by my beloved Texas, but I've opted instead for Semisonic whom I rather liked. Whilst not quite One Hit Wonders - they had 4 top forty hits including this, their first and biggest song - they did kind of disappear with little trace.

Here's Secret Smile:

Enjoy!

Andrew