How bad was that pun? If I could only come up with wittier quips, then I could be a grade A magazine writer. I guess this post is largely for Ally, provided she can steal enough bandwith to read it Ally, if you’re reading this, go on down to White Cube and perform an exorcism or something. Artkrush delivered this news to my inbox this morning – just to kick my shins a little, most likely.
First, it looks like Hirst’s skull has sold, kind of. According to this confusingly worded article in The Independent, For the Love of God has sold, at a figure less than it’s £50 million asking price to a “consortium of businessmen,” one of whom is Hirst himself, “as an investment.” Rumors regarding the actual sale price range from £38 million to £45 million. Somehow it all makes sense, as For the Love of God seems to basically function as a brand, anyways. The best quote in the article is this one:
A Californian dealer, Richard Polsky, said: “This is all about
investment, not about art collecting. This sale keeps Hirst in the
news, reinforces the demand for his work and makes everyone who spent
money at the White Cube feel good about their investment.”
I’m not sure if he’s even criticizing the piece, the sale or if he’s just talking about it like you’d talk about any other business transaction. Once again my complete inability to understand the top end of the art market is painfully obvious.
Second, about that brand thing. Apparently Hirst is going to be involved in a partnership with Warhol Factory X Levi’s, doing some kind of faux-diamond skull Levi jeans thing, along the lines of the Warhol jeans that some mindless hipster is no doubt wearing right now. So is the skull just the PR magnet/launch blitz for the ad campaign that is the brand that is Hirst/For the Love of God?
Technorati Tags: Damien Hirst, For the Love of God, White Cube, fashion, conceptual art, Levi’s, Levi’s 501 Jeans
The best part being that Hirst allegedly hassled his connections at Levi’s until they agreed to do the line.