Damien Hirst

I figured I should get one more blog in about the text book before finishing with the House of the Spirits, and once I saw Damien Hirst's art I knew that was what I should blog about.  His "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living" was a piece that truly got me thinking, much more than perhaps any other piece of art we have discussed so far this semester.

 

One of the first thoughts that came to mind was the way that Hirst was able to capture the horror of a creature that is known for its dangerous and ferocious and yet still find a way to bring that to display.  Even though the shark is dead and cannot physically harm us, I sort of feel that the sense of fear still remains with the shark.  The way that the shark has been placed with its mouth wide open as if it was about to strike its prey sends  tingle down the observers spine.  I feel that Hirst did an excellent job conveying that sense and allowing the public to witness that.

Another impression I got from this piece is that Hirst might have been conveying that death in itself is its own form of art.  There doesn't have to be life in a work to be art, or maybe a better way of saying it is death brings life.  If the shark was still alive and swimming freely in its box (or as free as a shark can swim in a small box), that would not give off the same artistic feel that a deceased shark would.  Perhaps the reason is that a dead shark cannot rearrange its position, thus permanently freezing it in the desired position.  Whatever the explanation, I feel that this reason is why I enjoyed this piece so much.