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November 23, 2013 / Tifern

A study of Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin

Hirst’s work can appear rather beautiful.

In and Out of Love

An entrepreneurial approach when doing your work is not a shortcoming when you’re alive in the 21st century and overt narcissism is always a desirable quality in an artist.

For the Love of God

The conscious realization of both traits and using them doesn’t have to be inartistic if it can be perceived as the exact opposite. However, insincere insincerity in one’s work is a different case and should be looked at differently.

In Hirst’s case, genuineness is something very difficult to discern. Understanding whether he is sincere or not should change the way his art is perceived. It’s strange how this ambiguity contributes to the allure of his work.

Is he an artist, or is he not? Is he genuine about his work? Is it a design or is it natural? Does the viewer have enough mental room to genuinely decide for themselves?

 Mother and Child Divided

Tracey Emin, who once said about Hirst, “There is no comparison between him and me; he developed a whole new way of making art and he’s clearly in a league of his own. It would be like making comparisons with Warhol.” seems to realize this paradox. It could be a part of her artistic psyche to label him as an artist.

My Bed

Many people like putting themselves on display. Artists like to go a bit further and display themselves more overtly — much to their humiliation and thanks to their natural attention whoredom — in a very presentable manner.

This masochistic aspect of showing one’s own undesirable traits to others for the pure sake of showing is unique. Tracey Emin does not seem to mind being seen negatively. In a sense, she sells herself through her art, and not her art through herself.

People Like You Need to Fuck People Like Me

One Comment

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  1. George / Dec 9 2013 6:15 pm

    I’d side with Stefanie Schneider…

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