I have been thinking more and more lately about how the value of a piece of art is determined and have come to the conclusion that the commodity in the equation is not the piece of art but rather the artist. Artist as celebrity or art as accessory. At this point it seems as though Hirst can create value out of anything. Ashtrays from his now-defunct restaurant just sold for $4,000 a piece. Hirst has become a commodity and an artifact all in one.
While I love his work I also question whether it is only death he speaks of. When i look at the work and hear the latest figures on what it cost for his little factory to turn out another piece I wonder if he is also making a sly commentary on what we value- and maybe that is the way we ward off death. If he keep making and the world keeps collecting and his name gets in the paper 10 times a week it creates a false sense of immortality- both for himself and the collector.
If it sells for his asking price of $100 million it will then be the single most expensive piece of contemporary art...what we buy says a lot about what we value. In this case it is not the meaning we value but the sensationalism. When people become consumers of art they finish the circle- by assessing value, they assess meaning which is what Hirst's art has become all about.
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One thing that's complicates the idea of the value of "For the Love of God" is that the materials themselves, even without Hirst's "magic touch" are insanely expensive. When a painting sells for a million dollars, almost 100% of that is based on the cultural value of the piece, and very little on the cost of materials, because paint and canvas cost so little. It would be interesting to see what the skull sells for and see what percentage is the raw value of the diamonds themselves and what percentage is the "added value" that Hirst, or his name, has contributed to the price.
It would be interesting to poll those who bid/or wanted to bid on Hirst's "For the Love of God" and simply ask them point blank whether or not their interest is in Damien Hirst as an artist or if it is purely in the value of the materials used. From what I gathered from several articles, the latter may include the vast majority of those interested. On the other hand, you may not always receive an honest answer.
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