I’m not going to lie, I’m no economist–but I can tell you right now that things aren’t looking so good for the rich and privileged these days. I know that these people who have had to put their private jets into retirement (for now at least), cut back on dye jobs and fire a maid or two don’t exactly deserve sympathy for the wayward paths of their standards of living but they are however responsible for the proliferation, well being, and preservation of the world’s art.(Ah i just remembered that this is where I read about these people and their troubles http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/fashion/01rich.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=fashion )

So, as twisted as it might be, if the rich suffer in some capacity, art suffers since buying expensive art at highly inflated prices might be one of the first luxuries to go. I’m not saying that the creative capacity suddenly flees from an artists mind but being an artist is expensive and it is a way of making a living after all (although I don’t think this justifies sensationalized pieces which sell for millions of dollars while people die and suffer all over the world—art doesn’t cost that much to make.) Which pieces you ask?! We need look no further than today’s news….

I just came across a tidbit about the auction that Sothebys in London had today on behalf of Damien Hirst. If you’re not familiar with Hirst, his work can best be described by the fact that he is considered to be a part of the “Young British Artists.” He is well known for his sculptures (if they can be called that) which consist of actual (albeit dead) animals suspended in glass tanks of formaldehyde. Sometimes these animals are cut up and sectioned off between panels of glass and as once-living things are prone to do, sometimes deteriorate and have to be replaced from time to time. Hirst received quite a bit of press for a piece he made entitled For the Love of God, a diamond encrusted skull which recently sold for over 100 million dollars. Despite the frequent questions about his sources of inspiration (which include a Biological Supply Company catalogue, a John LeKay sculpture of a crystal skull etc) Hirst’s work is still bringing in millions and millions of dollars-127 million dollars to be exact.

This weeks auction—not done through a gallery, which means Hirst takes home more money— is only 1/3 of the way through, there are still 160 works still to be sold and it has already beat the record for a single artist (Set last by a Pablo Picasso auction at 20 million dollars where 88 items were sold). Among the pieces sold were The Golden Calf, a dead calf with gold horns and hooves in formaldehyde for 20 million dollars, The Kingdom a tigershark also in formaldehyde, and Fragments of Paradise a glass shelf with lab manufactured diamonds on it for 10 million dollars.

Now last year his work, entitled the The Physical Impossiblity of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, was loaned to Met by a private individual who’d just bought it from the Saatchi Gallery . I just so happened to see it within a week or so of its installation (it’ll be there until 2010) and though it was something to see just for the sake of being able to say you did, honestly, the shark seemed small and wasn’t all that frightening. It was positioned in such a way that it appeared to plunge forward but somehow still appeared plainly dead and strung up on thin fishing wire.

Anytime detractors have questioned Hirst’s work and indeed the nature of contemporary art by saying “I could have made that” he has famously responded “But you didn’t, did you?.” As snarky of a comment as that is I understand where Hirst is coming from—certainly there are many skilled artists but only the truly imaginative ones impress themselves upon our memories no matter how little technical prowess their work required. So I suppose for this reason alone it’s a good thing that Hirst’s work is doing so well, it inspires artists to keep trying. Otherwise I feel those familiar pangs of guilt creeping up on me even though I wasn’t the one to buy these works for millions of dollars. I know this isn’t an ideal world but it does pain me to know that there are far greater and more real problems in the world than the fate of works by Damien Hirst and other artists alike. That millions of dollars must be spent to ensure their worth and thus justify their preservation is pretty sad. I know that art is enlightening, that it somehow does improve the nature of the world and the lives of the people who make it and get to enjoy it but I feel like things have gotten out of hand. I go back and forth between thinking that the cultural history of the world as preserved in works of art is priceless and lamenting the fact that art sometimes feels so inaccessible and takes precedence in this world over the preservation of the futures of real people living now. I’m not arguing “against” art in any capacity, simply against the ridiculousness of a piece of art being sold for 100 million dollars. Who’s buying this stuff and can they sleep at night? Anyway let me know what you think—what does it mean that a work is bought or sold? Is art a real issue? Am I going crazy??? I don’t know.

On another note I also spotted this today

http://www.facebook.com/pages/John-Frechette-ART/15468942394

Its an online art show by an Amherst Alum posted on the daily jolt. An interesting idea for sure. You can buy the art directly from the artist and most of it is under a hundred bucks. Now that’s a deal…

For the Love of God

The Impossibility of Death in the Mind of the Living For the Love of God