The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living

Poland 3, Wales 2; with all the scoring coming in the last 20 min of the game, just in case anyone’s wondering. The first good, solid chunk of Sport I’ve been able to watch since I got here, and I must say, it feels good. In understated honor of my little brother Jaxon, whenever someone asks me which team I root for, I have to say Man U. All that to say, I really didn’t have any stake in the game whatsoever, but it was nice to watch nonetheless. Earlier today, we went to the Saatchi Collection for art class. For those of you who don’t know what that is, and I assume that would be the majority of you as I would not have known before taking this class, it is the premier gallery for contemporary art. If your artwork is picked up by Mr. Saatchi, it means you have reached the highest level of recognition in a world that isn’t kind to modern art. Please do not think that I am criticizing the modern world for it’s lack of interest in its own art, rather after today, I would join the masses in disdain for the trends and lines being taken by today’s premier artists. One artist, Damien Hirst, has reached the pinnacle of his profession by putting a shark in a tank of formaldehyde and calling it “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living.” The single most expensive piece of modern art is one that Saatchi commissioned Damien Hirst to create. It is a 20-foot reproduction of an anatomical model of a body that Hirst had a friend of his create out of bronze using one of his son’s educational toys as a model. On top of the bronze is paint commonly called “theme park paint” for its plastic-like finish. The piece is called “Hymn,” and if you’re interested I strongly suggest you look it up online and see what I’m talking about. When asked by our teacher today if this was “art,” I had to say no. My teacher countered with the fact that, especially in modern art, the emphasis should be placed on the idea more than the physical product in front of you which is really only a by-product of the actual art that lies in the concept. To that I countered with the question, “What in this was Hirst’s idea? It was commissioned by Saatchi, designed by some company who makes anatomical models, and carried out by Hirst’s friend who made the physical ‘by-product.’” The answer I got to that really just skirted the question, and didn’t address it in any way shape or form. The entire gallery begged you to consider the question “what is art?” That is a much more difficult question than it appears to be on the surface. I don’t know. I just thought I would throw that question out there for you to discuss. I know that John Deniston will chime in at some point with his cute witticisms, and I welcome them. It’s before 11 and I’m trying to go to bed a little early to get some sleep before I wake up at 2 am to see the final debate. God Bless America!