Before I start 2009 I thought I might have a quick look back at 2008 on Art News Blog. It’s not a comprehensive look at the art world happenings in 2008, it’s just a few posts that I found interesting throughout the year.

• Realities of Being an Artist – A sobering list of things that won’t happen for you as an artist.
• RED Auction Raises $40 Million – Damien Hirst learns that it’s good to give.
• Most Popular Art Museums – The Art Newspaper released a list of the most popular art museums around the world.
• PJ Harvey at the Sydney Opera House – I popped down to Sydney and saw PJ Harvey in concert.
• Gay Jesus Play Controversy – Sydney Christians were a little bothered by a gay Jesus on stage.
• Urban Art Auction – Bonhams creates a new auction category and cashes in on the urban art craze.
• Spam Cartoons – Janet Nelson uses penis spam for something useful and makes us giggle with her Innocent Spam series.
• Australian Aboriginal Paintings – I saw some impressive Aboriginal bark paintings in Sydney.
• What is Art? – An intelligent reply to a stupid question. Who cares what art is?!
• Bill Henson’s Nude Teen Photos – Australian photographer Bill Henson created a debate that quickly spread around the world.
• Lucian Freud’s Big Sue Painting – Freud’s “Benefits Supervisor Sleeping” sells for $33.6 million.
• List of Art Scammers – I started a list of internet scammers that target artists.
• Robert Rauschenberg Dies – I always find it sadder when artists die, like we’re more special than normal people (I call them normies..lol).
• Most Expensive Artists – From Jasper Johns, to Damien Hirst, to Jeff Koons, and Lucian Freud (I think he’s not only the most expensive living painter, but also the greatest living painter!)
• Knitted Poo – Corrine aka Jafabrit created some funny little poo invitations which I thought were great.
• Albert Herbert Dies – UK painter passes away.
• Pablo Picasso Comes to Australia – Pablo Picasso and friends came to Brisbane, Australia. I was most impressed by a Henri Matisse still life painting.
• I Love Painting – I started painting again after about 18 months.
• Imperial Clothing – Article by Donald Frazell (Donald likes to ruffle feathers)
• Banksy is Robin Gunningham – The mysterious Banksy is the middle class Robin Gunningham according to the Mail on Sunday.
• Marla Olmstead Documentary – I finally saw My Kid Could Paint That. The “child genius” Marla Olmstead creates a lot of debate with readers.
• Damien Hirst Auction – Damien Hirst’s Beautiful Inside My Head Forever auction was an amazing success.
• Ten Things I Hate About Having an Art Blog – Title is self explanatory.
• Ten Things I Love about having an Art Blog – Same as above, but more positive.
• Why Create Art? – Questioning myself and art.
• Hazel Dooney on Creating Art – Australian artist Hazel Dooney shares some of her journal.
• Vaginas – Artist makes art out of the vagina and offers a vagina molding service.
• Jesus Christ Art – Jesus was big in 2008.. so were skulls.
• $5 Jackson Pollock for $50 Million – I would like to offer the buyer a room full of Picassos and Van Goghs.. all genuine.. of course.
• Alexander Brener Shocking – Russian artist brings back the shock.
• Sarah Palin Inspires Artists – The scariest person I have ever seen inspires artists everywhere. Pricasso painted Palin nude and Bruce Elliot put his Nude Sarah Palin painting in his bar.
• Banksy Goes Animatronic – Graffiti artist Banksy created a freaky little pet shop in New York.
• Marc Quinn’s Gold Kate Moss – UK sculptor Marc Quinn unveils his solid gold sculpture of British model Kate Moss.
• Damien Hirst Employee Layoffs – The financial crisis hits the art world.
• Religion and Art – I offended an atheist by criticizing religion ..lol.
• American President Barack Obama – Phew! My opinion of mankind would have halved if Obama didn’t win.
• Art Books – I gave my credit card a workout at Amazon.com.

Happy new year! I can’t believe how quickly the year went.

I told myself that I wouldn’t mention Damien Hirst for a while as he’s a bit of a news hog, but I just can’t help myself. There’s no other artist out there like him. None of my artists friends have told me that they’re laying off up to 20 employees as none of my artist friends have 20 employees to lay off.

The quote below is from the Guardian newspaper here.
“On Thursday, up to 17 of the 22 people who make the pills for Hirst’s drug cabinet series were told their contracts were not being renewed, according to two sources close to Science Ltd, Hirst’s main art-producing company. Another three who make his butterfly paintings were also told they were surplus to requirements.
It is thought that amounts to approximately half of the London-based artists who work for Hirst. They are paid about £19,000 a year, sources said. In June 2007, Lullaby Spring, a cabinet filled with hand-painted pills, sold for £9.65m.”

Artinfo also mention the story here.

>> Damien Hirst News, Being an Artist

I know I probably mention Damien Hirst more than any other artist, but it’s because he makes more news than any other artist. The man is a marketing genius.

Hirst says Art is too Expensive..
Damien Hirst has a personal fortune of around £200 million and is capable of pulling off his own $200 million auction, but he thinks art is too expensive. He spoke the Independent and said “I think it’s quite good [adjustment in art market prices] because it became unreal … You start to think you are touched by God. I have always thought that art is worth what the next guy is prepared to pay.”

Those with a shed full of Damien Hirst works won’t like the reality of the next quote by Hirst from the Independent article.. “If I want to sell new work, I’ll price it lower. If people have got less money, you can either just shut your door and say, ‘Screw everybody’, or I can wait until everyone can afford my work or price it cheaper.”

The gloom was prompted after “Beautiful Artemis Thor Neptune Odin Delusional Sapphic Inspirational Hypnosis Painting” failed to sell at auction for $3 to 4 million. Hirst said that the current seller paid him half the current asking price less than a year ago, so it hardly sounds like a meltdown.

Art+ Auction Looks back at the Great Hirst Sale
From the Art+Auction report.. “London dealer Helly Nahmad, although an early supporter of Hirst, refrained from bidding at the evening sale. “I prefer to be in something that has a lot less risk,” he says. Nahmad feels the entire sale was indicative of the art-market “moving closer to a business model.” He characterizes Hirst as being “between a superstar artist and a luxury brand” and terms investing in his latest oeuvre as “much easier than buying a modern picture— all you need to know are two or three facts: It’s Hirst, it’s Sotheby’s, it’s luxury. . . . You could have a Hirst company as large as LVMH.” Continue Reading the article..

Damien Hirst Stocking Fillers
If you don’t think the sky is falling and you have a spare 50 thousand pounds this christmas, you might want to visit the Damien Hirst shop for some plastic skulls painted with house paint. Other Criteria has a variety of Hirst skull options for sale.

£50,000 + VAT
Hallucinatory Head (OC 6158) Damien Hirst
210 x 140 x 140 mm
Household gloss on plastic skull
2008

Or if you like your skulls with a lower jaw and eyes..

£50,000 + VAT
Transcendent Head (OC 6136) Damien Hirst
210 x 140 x 140 mm
Household gloss on plastic skull
2008

Damien Hirst the Art Director – Sienna Miller Video
Mr Hirst has also become the art director of a music video starring actress Sienna Miller. “See the Light” is a song by The Hours music group. Sienna Miller pushes her way through a very Hirst-like landscape..
The Hours – See The Light

That’s all from the Damien Hirst News Blog today!
>> Damien Hirst News

I love and hate Damien Hirst in equal portions. I love the marketing genius that the man is, but I also dislike him for similar reasons as he has made art all about business. Only a (starving) fool would ignore business altogether in art, but I still find myself clinging to a romantic art that is above money and press releases. There’s all kinds of art though, so I probably admire Hirst more than I dislike him.

The British artist is now teaming up with Levi’s Jeans to do a limited edition collection of t-shirts and jeans. The Damien Hirst X Levi’s® collection uses well known Hirst themes like spots, skulls, butterflies and his spin paintings. The prices start at £55 for tees and £150 for jeans, so now everyone can own a Damien Hirst.. kind of.

Here’s a short Damien Hirst interview about the Levi’s collection..

1. How did the original collaboration between you and Levi’s® come about?

I’ve always worn Levi’s® and I saw a collection that (designer) Adrian Nyman made using Warhol’s art and I loved it so much I bought the whole collection. Adrian heard about it and contacted me and asked if I’d like to work with him, the Warhol estate and Levi’s®, and of course I jumped at the chance.

2. Why did you decide to partner with Levi’s® to create another Damien Hirst X Levi’s® limited-edition collection?

Because I really enjoyed the experience of working with Adrian and Levi’s® and loved the clothes.

3. What was your inspiration for this collection?

I loved the idea of art you can wear.

4. What was the inspiration and meaning behind your iconic imagery of the skull, spots and butterfly?

I live in Mexico and I love the way they celebrate all the bad and good aspects of life there. In life we are here for a good time, not a long time and I hope the imagery communicates that.

5. Do you have any favourite pieces or items in the collection you are most excited about?

I love it all.

6. Have you ever provided design inspiration for a clothing collection before?

I painted heavy metal album covers on schoolmate’s denim jackets when I was at school.

7. Have you seen people out and about in pieces from your Damien Hirst X Levi’s® limited-edition collection? Do you like the idea that people can now “wear your art”?

I tried to sign someone’s t shirt I saw in a club but they wouldn’t let me because they didn’t believe I was Damien Hirst, funny huh?

8. What similarities or differences do you find between expressing yourself creatively through art versus fashion?

I don’t see a difference really, anything done well is art, but this way a lot of people get to own my stuff and in a not too precious way.

>> Damien Hirst News

I wasn’t going to mention Damien Hirst again for at least a few months after the Hirst/Sotheby’s auction and the hype that surrounded it, but I thought this news was interesting.

Damien Hirst’s merchandising company Other Criteria is opening up shop next to Sotheby’s in London. The Hirst shop will be open for business on the 6th of October at 36 New Bond Street, London.

According to Bloomberg there will be products from the Other Criteria website for sale, including things like a limited edition charm bracelet with 23 pills attached for 25,000 pounds, Hirst postcards, a series of gold sculptures, prints, posters, and other Hirst inspired merchandise.

I have joked that Damien Hirst should list himself on the stock exchange, but it’s now a serious recommendation! I would be investing my money in the greatest business artist alive today. It’s a safer bet than the financial institutions around the world that are currently falling down around our feet.
>> Damien Hirst News

The Damien Hirst circus is over and was a great success. The first night of the Hirst auction raised about 70 million pounds and the second day raised 40,919,700 GBP, which works out to be about $200 million USD in 2 days.

I don’t care what we think of his art.. love it or hate it.. Damien Hirst is a genius! He makes Andy Warhol look like a hippy with no job or credit card.

Warhol said “Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.” If Andy was right, Damien Hirst is the greatest artist of all time as he is without doubt the best business artist alive.

I usually only get 15 or 20 people each day looking for “Hirst” on Art News Blog, but on the 16th of September there were 515 people searching for the British artist. Quite a few searched for “Hurst” too. There was even a few people looking for Damien Hearst.
>> Sotheby’s Art Auctions, Damien Hirst News

Damien Hirst may have a pile of unsold artworks sitting in a gallery and Robert Hughes may think his work is “tacky,” but there’s still plenty of rich collectors willing to bet their millions on the British artist. Financial crisis and all, Hirst still sets records.

The first night of the much talked about Damien Hirst auction (Beautiful Inside my Head Forever) made about £70 million, which is 8 million pounds above the high estimate by Sotheby’s.

Traditional galleries of major artists worldwide must be feeling a little nervous after the Hirst auction success. Very few artists could pull off something as grand as Damien Hirst, but I don’t think we have seen the last of artists dealing directly with auction houses.

Here’s a few lots from the Hirst auction..

The Kingdom (lot 5, Evening sale)
tiger shark, glass, steel, silicone and formaldehyde
solution with steel plinth
214 by 383.6 by 141.8cm.
executed in 2008
Sotheby’s Estimate
£ 4,000,000 – 6,000,000
€ 5,060,000-7,590,000
US$ 7,900,000-11,850,000
Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium: 9,561,250 GBP

The Golden Calf (lot 13, Evening Sale)
calf, 18 carat gold, glass, goldplated steel, silicone and
formaldehyde solution with Carrara marble plinth
398.9 by 350.5 by 167.6cm
executed in 2008
Sotheby’s Estimate
£ 8,000,000-12,000,000
€ 10,120,000-15,180,000
US$ 15,800,000-23,690,000
Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium: 10,345,250 GBP

Aurothioglucose (lot 7, Evening Sale)
household gloss and enamel
paint on canvas
172.7 by 274.3cm.
executed in 2008
Sotheby’s Estimate
£ 400,000-600,000
€ 510,000-760,000
US$ 790,000-1,190,000
Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium: 668,450 GBP

>> Sotheby’s Art Auctions, Damien Hirst News