Home  •  Programme summary  •  Taking New York  •  Damien Hirst superstar   
Hirst's art: for  •  Hirst's art: against  •  Hirst's life  •  Art attack  •  Find out more

28 December 2000, 11.05pm

Life and Death and Damien Hirst, an hour-long fly-on-the-wall documentary made by London Weekend Television's Arts and Features Department, follows the British artist Damien Hirst as he prepares for a spectacular one-man show in Larry Gagosian's new Chelsea gallery in New York. A risky, high-profile exhibition, this is the show that could make or break Hirst's reputation in the world capital of modern art.

In Britain, Hirst's personal and professional reputation is well-established. The most famous and infamous of the Young British Artists (YBAs), he is best known for his Natural History series - dead animals, such as a shark, a sheep or a cow, preserved in formaldehyde.

Hirst enthusiasts say his work is bold and ground-breaking, that it sets the standard for contemporary art in the early part of the 21st century. But his numerous detractors, including respected figures in the art world as well as the tabloid press, argue that there is little more to Hirst's work than hype. He has been accused of being derivative and unsubtle - and of carrying out an artistic con-trick.

Whatever the critics say, there is no doubt that his work has had a huge impact on the art scene, particularly in Britain, and has brought contemporary art into the full glare of media attention. Some commentators attribute the success of London's Tate Modern gallery, which opened in 2000, to Hirst and his fellow YBAs.

Although Hirst has suffered at the hands of the media, he is certainly not shy of publicity. Outspoken and provocative, he is also media-savvy and ubiquitous. A Groucho Club regular, he has celebrity friends with whom he collaborates on a number of projects outside the art world. He has written books, designed album covers, owns a stake in a restaurant group and has recorded two pop singles with Fat Les, one of which, 'Vindaloo', reached number two in the charts in 1998.

Home
Programme summary
Taking New York
Damien Hirst superstar
Hirst's art: for
Hirst's art: against
Hirst's life
Art attack
Find out more
Credits
Top of page