Artist unveils $98M diamond skull

Thought this would be of interest to everyone…weird as it is, it is
quite a work of art!

Jeanne
http://www.jeannius.com

Artist unveils $98M diamond skull
Source: cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/06/01/skull.art.reut

Picture: http://www.ganoksin.com/ftp/story.skull.gi.jpg

LONDON, England (Reuters) – Damien Hirst, former BritArt bad
boy whose works infuriate and inspire in equal measure, did it
again on Friday with a diamond-encrusted platinum cast of a
human skull priced at a cool $98 million.

The skull, cast from a 35-year-old 18th-century European male,
is coated with 8,601 diamonds, including a large pink diamond
worth more than $8 million in the center of its forehead.

“It shows we are not going to live for ever. But it also has a
feeling of victory over death,” Hirst said as the sparkling
skull was unveiled to the public for the first time amid tight
security at central London’s White Cube gallery.

Hirst, who has a preoccupation with blood and death and whose
works range from diced and pickled quadrupeds to bloody
depictions of birth, said he was inspired by similarly
bejeweled Aztec skulls. While the skull is platinum and the
diamonds flawless – and ethically sourced, Hirst stressed –
the teeth are real.

“It was very important to put the real teeth back. Like the
animals in formaldehyde you have got an actual animal in
there. It is not a representation. I wanted it to be real,” he
said.

The skull is missing one tooth, which Hirst initially replaced
with a gold one and then decided to leave out.

“We felt we didn’t need it, so we took it out. It feels sort
of human and quirky,” he said.

Hirst, whose works regularly fetch millions of pounds, said he
hoped the skull would not be snapped up by a private buyer and
taken away from public view.

"It would be sad it it ends up in a vault somewhere that
nobody sees. Obviously I would like it to be on display.

“If anybody buys it, I would make that part of the
conditions,” he said.

He rejected suggestions that his works were more a standing
joke against the art establishment than real works of art.

“I’ve stopped worrying about what art is. There is good art,
bad art, indifferent art. It is art but it is more timeless
than contemporary art,” he said.

Other works in the new exhibition include pickled creatures, a
flying dove suspended in mid-air, a flayed human statue
holding its own skin and a series of pictures of an operation
being carried out.

As an indication of the wealth he has amassed since being
spotted in 1991 by BritArt mogul Charles Saatchi, Hirst, who
financed the skull himself, said he couldn’t remember whether
it had cost 10-15 million pounds ($20-30 million).

“I hope this work gives people hope – uplifting, take your
breath away,” he said in response to a question on what he
expected the public to get from the skull.

Hi all,

Damien Hirst (of the pickled shark fame) has created the most
expensive piece of contemporary artwork around- a jewelry object. It
cost about 15 million pounds to make and is selling at 50 million.

Looks like really great setting. It would be interesting to hear
from the makers, perhaps some of you can connect us with them for an
inside report.

Stories:

http://saatchi-gallery.co.uk/blogon/2006/05/diamond_geezer_1.php
http://diamondsnews.com/diamonds_skull.htm

best
Charles

I think that, rather than saying that ’ this will be the ultimate
two fingers up to death.’ Hirst might have been better making the
piece a memorial to all those who have died in the process of trying
to extract and process diamonds for the likes of him to play with!!

Best wishes,
Ian
Ian W. Wright
Sheffield UK

Hello All

Good comment Ian.

Im normally reluctant to criticize any artists and their work if
they are not hurting anyone and don’t use public money. Although I
prefer permanent classical works rather than modern "installations"
as they are known or art that is there one day and gone the next
especially when public money is used to fund it. Yes i know the skull
was funded by Hirst. But the first thing that come to mind about the
diamond skull is… did Hirst not know that skull jewellery had
already been invented…what’s new about it?..Apart from that its
a huge expensive ornament… or who taught him how to set diamonds
so well? What? oh you didn’t actually set them yourself ? Oh so who
was actually the artist then ? Ok I will shut up and leave him to it
now.

Phil W