Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Grayson Perry: Damien Hirst's work is hackneyed and tatty

 

Kunal Dutta
Friday 11 October 2013 22:03 BST
Comments
Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry has attacked Damien Hirst's work as 'hackneyed' and 'tatty'
Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry has attacked Damien Hirst's work as 'hackneyed' and 'tatty' (AFP/Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry has attacked Damien Hirst’s work as “hackneyed” and “tatty”. The transvestite potter, 53, who will deliver the BBC Reith Lectures this month, said the “phenomenally successful” artist was playing “a good game”.

Asked to name the artworks he most disliked, Perry placed at the top of his list Hirst’s work The Physical Impossibility Of Death In The Mind Of Someone Living – a shark suspended in formaldehyde.

Hirst’s retrospective at Tate Modern last year, complete with a rotting cow’s head and a diamond-encrusted human skull, was the most popular solo show in the gallery’s history, attracting about 463,000 visitors. But Perry told Radio Times: “Hirst is very famous, incredibly rich and successful and he’s played a good game. He’s pulled off his masterstrokes again and again. They’re iconic examples of appropriation, but to an insider in the art world they’re hackneyed. They suffer from the Mona Lisa curse: when an artwork becomes incredibly famous it’s difficult to see it as an artwork. It becomes a cause célèbre. “I can only look at it as a bit tatty; I can’t see it as an artwork.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in