- Paperback
- Publisher: Faber and Faber (30 Jun 2007)
- ISBN-10: 0571212697
- ISBN-13: 978-0571212699
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,098,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Damien Hirst and his friend, the writer Gordon Burn, provide in On the Way to Work a fascinating window into the mind of one of the most successful artists of our day. The book, beautifully produced, illustrated and typeset, is a collection of interviews spanning the eve of Hirst's first major exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1991 to ones conducted late in 2000. While the book is certainly skewed towards the later years (one interview in January 1992, one in April 1996, three in 1999 and seven in 2000) the reader does get a broad overview of how Hirst's relationships to life, art and money have progressed. Hirst's fame, his spearheading of the YBA (Young British Artists) phenomenon and his subsequent exposure in the gossip columns with the well documented, and inevitable, drug and drink stories, are all fully covered here. But it is Hirst's profound artistic imagination and insight that best come over: his obsession with death--and with needing to prove his talent as a way to be immortalised in order to escape death--and his ambivalence towards art (the kind of ambivalence much of the public itself exhibits towards modern art) are key here. Also illuminating is Hirst's respect and admiration toward Francis Bacon and our discovery of his skill as a raconteur. If most visual artists show a disappointing inability to discuss their creations, Hirst at least shows an enviable ability to tell a divertingly good story.
Hirst, candidly, sees the art world as already always part of the work, and space, of art and it is a part he sometimes enjoys, sometimes struggles with and whose successes he has rightly benefited from. In 1996 Hirst displayed the body of cow cut up and suspended in 12 vitrines. The piece was called, "Some Comfort Gained from the Acceptance of the Inherent Lies in Everything": Hirst seems to have decided that the inevitablity of death, so futilely hidden by a society obsessed with youth and health, is the only truth or rather, perhaps, the only incisive fact the knowledge of which may help us to fully live now and eschew those lies in which we all swim and in which we are always in danger of drowning. On The Way to Work is an excellent book and much recommended to anyone who has been fascinated by the sudden rise in the visibility of modern art and what this has to say about society at the beginning of the 21st century. --Mark Thwaite --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
if you think you know, you DON'T!,
This review is from: On the Way to Work (Hardcover)
Forget what you think you think about Damien Hirst and put aside any doubts about the integrity or value of his work - this book blew my mind and is so powerful it crackles with life.Hirst is a great talker, is straightforward and far away from the enigmatic artist who does not want to reveal himself - he lays it all out and more. He is funny as hell , has the ability to answer his most frequent criticisms with style and passion and swears like a trooper. Burns is the man for the job, understanding Hirst but not being 'in-jokes-matey' about it and the pictures on every page are revealing. All in all, an amazing book everyone should read and at a great price for what it is. Buy it for friends who dont like art.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I heart Hirst,
By Midge (Deal, Kent) - See all my reviews
This review is from: On the Way to Work (Hardcover)
I love Damien Hirst anyway, but this book is such an interesting (well, basically) interview with photographs from his private collection. An incite into the humble beginnings of a highly successful contemporary artist.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Candid Candid Candid look inside the mind of genius.,
By
This review is from: On the Way to Work (Hardcover)
This book is a series of interviews between Gordon Burn and artist Damien Hirst. It's easy to read and provides a fascinating insight into the most successful living artist today. The questions are not always easy, and Damien's answers are frank and honest. This makes for very interesting reading.
Obviously if you are interested in art and Hirst's work then you will get more out of this book than others. But for those who want to find out more about this artist, here is a grand place to start. The way he justifies his work, his sources of inspiration, his openness about himself all comes together nicely. Burns interviews Hirst over a series of years, some right before an exhibition openning to get his thoughts and feelings. Why only 4 stars? I would have liked to have seen more pictures of his art, rather than pics of him ...but hey you can't have everything!
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