What's interesting about this story of Hirst's $98,000,000.00 dollar piece of art is not the fact that someone made a diamond encrusted platinum skull. If this were just about creating an object, a rhinestone skull would be as impressive. So though I don't find it interesting as fine art, the sheer opulence of the piece actually makes it interesting as conceptual art. Like Duchamp's toilet, it's a good conversation starter.
For fun, I did some moronic calculations and found that if every country on earth pooled their collective GNP for one year, they could buy 425,530 skulls. This means that one in every 15,500 people would get one. I feel like this could turn into a great commentary on art and economics, but I'm not sure what more to say.
monochrom is an art-technology-philosophy group having its seat in Vienna and Zeta Draconis. monochrom is an unpeculiar mixture of proto-aesthetic fringe work, pop attitude, subcultural science, context hacking and political activism. Our mission is conducted everywhere, but first and foremost in culture-archeological digs into the seats (and pockets) of ideology and entertainment. monochrom has existed in this (and almost every other) form since 1993. [more]
