Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Why the Hockney Versus Hirst Feud Is Good for Art


No sooner do I make a list of the must-see exhibitions of 2012 that includes exhibitions featuring both David Hockney (above, left) and Damien Hirst (above, right) then we get the first good, old fashioned public fight between the two. As reported in The Independent today, posters for Hockney’s show David Hockney RA: A Bigger Picture at the Royal Academy of Arts, London will include the line, “All the works here were made by the artist himself, personally”—clearly pointing an accusing finger at Hirst’s penchant for outsourcing his spot paintings, which will circle the globe at 11 Gagosian-owned galleries starting next week as well as find a place in the Damien Hirst retrospective starting in April at Tate Modern. Is this just a publicity grabbing stunt or a true philosophical clash? I believe that, in the end, Hockney’s stand is just what contemporary art needs to matter to the mainstream again. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Why the Hockney Versus Hirst Feud Is Good for Art."

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