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On the Way to Work
 
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On the Way to Work (Hardcover)

by Gordon Burn (Author), Damien Hirst (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber; 1st edition edition (5 Nov 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0571202578
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571202577
  • Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 18.4 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 181,311 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

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



Review

'I want it to be revealing. I'll talk about anything you like. I want it to be truthful. Let's do it. There is no off-limits. I'm afraid of nothing.'

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4 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars if you think you know, you DON'T!, 15 Dec 2001
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.
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4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Infundibulum and Diaphane. Coffee Anon. Seqoia & Apogee., 2 Sep 2002
Damien Hirst is that crazy artist guy who pickled sharks then did the sheep's head in formaldehyde, the not-so-bright-or-beautiful anatomical model 30 feet high , the moving cow, the Saatchi business and so on. But this is not a book of monographs; it is essentially a book of interviews with the artist, except that filtration strata, be they journalistic or otherwise, are removed giving the (prob. false!) impression that we hearing actual conversation with Hirst. And it works because there is none of the journalistic posturing and leading questions and prejudicial braggartry that would necessarily be found in an in-depth interview contained within a broadsheet.
Hirst's fascinations will be well known to those who have seen his work. This book or codex does not Freud or Jung itself or that work or those fascinations into the oblivion of the labelled (and those whose main "entitle" is themselves) or simply chinstroked vowelisations in the correct pitch.

Quality. I'd've given it five stars.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars second review, 16 Sep 2008
I bought the book cause it was cheap and I wanted to see if Hirst's thoughts had any more depth to them than his work. Short answer is "no." This book claims to have been inspired by the wonderful book of Francis Bacon interviews with David Sylvester. I would not take that claim at face value. First difference lies in the fact that Sylvester was an erudite art critic while Hirst's interviewer Burns' other books include studies of murderers Peter Sutcliffe and Fred and Rosemary West - sensationalist characters who pulled the wool over everyones eyes for years...

Although Hirst is a phenomenally successful producer of expensive "art" items I don't see the Hirst/Burn combo inspiring anyone interested in art. It has the feel of a couple of blokes talking after the pub with Burns in awe of Hirst and Hirst himself over the time of the interviews believing the hype so dropping in one liners that come across as meanless and shallow. No real exploring of ideas or developing of thoughts which is what I take art to really be about.

I think Hirst's real interest seems to be in exploiting and pushing the boundries of the "art" market to sell his goods for the highest price and this book is one piece in his branding strategy. One branding strategy he seems to use for his "art" products is to try to link his name and work to that of Francis Bacon - which is where this book comes in. Personally I see no real similarities in approach, subject matter or execution and this book does serve to make the differences very visible. Hirst comes across as energyful but superficial. In light of what I see as the real purpose of the book I do think this book might be of interest to an aspiring marketing or sales person.

If it is art you are interested in skip this book and read the Bacon/Sylvester interviews - it is one of the most inspiring books I have ever read - and one I constantly go back to.
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4.0 out of 5 stars A Candid Candid Candid look inside the mind of genius.
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... Read more
Published on 29 Oct 2007 by M. Godenho

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