Rating: N/A
Media: Artwork
Genre: Sculpture,
surreal
Creator: Damien
Hirst
Edition Reviewed: Unknown
Here
it is. My first review for “Something's Fishy.” I had a lot of
trouble deciding on how I was going to break the ice. I wanted to
review something simple, yet complex. Something short, yet lengthy.
Something that would really get the attention of anyone who happened
upon this blog. Something with … bite.
So how about a tiger shark suspended in formaldehyde?
This
is The Physical
Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, which
is an artwork done by Damien Hirst. Hirst is a fellow of vivid
imagination and a fondness for wordy titles. A
good chunk of his artwork involves the carcasses of various animals,
preserved in positions that make them frozen in time. This
sculpture, his first and most popular shark piece, is exactly what it
is: a thirteen-foot tiger shark suspended in a large tank of
blue-tinted
formaldehyde.
Naturally, this piece has come under some scrutiny. Many art critics
deny that it is actual art, because it is a shark suspended in
formaldehyde. Not a beautifully-sculpted statue of a shark. An
actual, physical, biological shark. In formaldehyde. They argue
that anyone can catch a shark and preserve it. I can understand this
argument, that an easily-accessible and widely-available specimen
cannot be art. Anyone can acquire a preserved shark for their home.
Even I have one. I got it several years ago in South Padre for a
mere twenty dollars: a far cry from the $8mil price tag on Hirst's
shark.
In hindsight, I
wonder if it was ethical to buy this. Or legal.
So what makes Hirst's shark so special? Why is his shark a piece of
modern art while my poor little shark is nothing but a souvenir? I have my own theory/interpretation of the matter.
First,
let us consider the shark's species. The tiger
shark (Galeocerdo cuvier)
is a beautiful creature. It's large, intelligent eyes and striking
stripes set it apart from the other requiem sharks. But behind the
beauty lies danger. Tiger sharks have gained a reputation for
gulping down everything in their path. Besides its
typical prey choices (such as fish and sea turtles), they have
devoured inedible objects such as license plates, tires, cans, and
(in one case) a suit of armor!
This habit of gulping up everything in its path makes the tiger shark
a wonderful metaphor for death: an unstoppable force that will devour
all.
Second, the position of the shark should be taken into consideration.
As you can see with my little shark, most specimens placed in
formaldehyde are curled into a fetal position. While its technical
reason is to make the specimen easy to remove/replace it into its
jars, it also gives the specimen a helpless appearance.
Hirst's
shark, meanwhile, is preserved in a way that makes it seem alive. It
does not curl into a helpless ball or sink to the bottom of its tank.
It hovers
in the middle of the “water,” mouth open and eyes wide. It looks
powerful and alive, ready to burst down the walls of its tank and
escape at any moment.
But it isn't alive.
And the illusion is staggering to the human mind.
To
summarize, this shark can be considered art. It communicates
a message (death is a large, unstoppable force that we cannot comprehend). It is visually intriguing
to the viewer. With a bit of creativity and imagination, a person
can create their own interpretations of the work.
And
that's another reason why I chose this as my first review: to show
that anything can have merit and value, if one looks at it with
an open mind. What looks
like a shark in a tank could turn into a metaphor for death. What
looks like a boring kid's game could actually be a fun and
challenging puzzler. What looks like a terrible Finding
Nemo rip-off could have
heart and spirit of its very own.
It's all about your point of view.
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