Kasey Litts Ceramics/Sculpture 2/10/14

Damien Hirst is a British artist who uses a variety of installation metho s! sculpture! paintin"! an rawin"# $n these processes he e%plores the relationship &etween eath! life! an art# Hirst's wor( challen"es contemporary &elief systems an in his approach has on occasion upset some critics# His interest in such matters &e"an when he was youn" an ma(in" visits to the Lee s anatomy epartment# Later in his career he plays with the i ea of eath an how! in an art form! can either fri"hten people or "ive them vitality# )osa Bonheur was possi&ly the most famous female artist urin" the nineteenth century# *s a chil of an artist an a music teacher she was encoura"e to pursue art# * realist painter! Bonheur's paintin"s always epicte omestic animals especially farm animals# Livin" on a farm as a chil an visitin" slau"hterhouses when she was ol er "ave her e%cellent (nowle "e of animal anatomy an she +uic(ly &ecame a praise artist# However! Bonheur i create some trou&le &ecause of her nonconformity an especially as an outspo(en feminist# $n some of her paintin"s there are secon ary concepts at play# Bonheur epicts farm animals almost always in close pro%imity to man! who usually is oppressin" the animal! often su&tly in the paintin"! which was a comparison to how women were treate an oppresse # $n Damien Hirst's For the Love of God! ,-i"#1. he completely covers a cast of a s(ull in iamon s# *lthou"h the s(ull is a cast of a man from the mi seventeen hun re s to the early ei"hteen hun re s! the teeth are from the ori"inal s(ull itself# Hirst's uses this wor( to comments on the &rief time we have on earth# /he s(ull itself is reminiscent of Day of the Dea s(ulls that are tra itionally ecorate # /he fact that Hirst ecorates his this s(ull also shows how he pushes this attitu e towar s eath even further# /he purpose of ecoratin" such an o&0ect is an attempt to etour from what the s(ull represents1 eath# Hirst escri&es this concept as our way of is"uisin" somethin" we on't li(e &y ecoratin" it or chan"in" it so that it &ecomes &eara&le! an eventually turns into somethin" ifferent# 2sin" iamon s Hirst not only creates somethin" &eautiful out of a "rotes+ue o&0ect! &ut remin s the viewer how the material is viewe # Diamon s are a pricey an hi"hly eman e material that in some countries people ie for them# )osa Bunheur on the other than oes not have a central concept focuse on eath# $nstea she creates &eautifully realistic paintin"s where animals ominate the scenes# /he su&conte%t of her paintin"s hint at oppression# * prime e%ample of this su&tle oppression can &e seen in Plowing the Nivernais. ,-i"# 2. 3ithout loo(in" closely the paintin" seems li(e an or inary realistic paintin"! &ut upon closer e%amination there is a human presence in the paintin"! or more specifically male# /he men "ui in" the cattle in the fiel s are not merely "ui in"! &ut po(in" an pro in" at the cattle# /he lar"e white cattle in the center of the paintin" loo(s as if it frothin" at the mouth out of e%haustion while it is the only creature to ma(e irect eye contact with the viewer# $t seems to loo( out at the viewer in horror an esperation# /hese are a metaphor for the oppression of Bonheur an all women urin" the nineteenth century# 3ithout close e%amination an prior (nowle "e or Bonheur's own &ac("roun these conclusions woul &e ifficult to ma(e! &ut the concept of control an oppression can &e seen in several more paintin"s &y Bonheur where man stru""les to remain in control of the &east# /he relationship &etween Hirst! Bonheur! an my own wor( is a concept of eath an the stru""le to control such outcomes# $n relation to Hirst's wor( $ also fin myself fascinate &y the i eas of art! life an eath# 4ot only is it an intri"uin" concept! &ut one that can &e constantly reinterprete similar to how Hirst oes with ecorate s(ulls! a 5oo of ea animals! an many

other wor(s# /he relationship &etween my own wor( an Bonheur seems more o&scure! &ut $ fin myself more often than not rawn to the su&0ect of animals rather than man li(e Bonheur# $n a way my wor( is an interpretation of how $ is"uise the i ea of eath in or er to oppress the istur&in" truth of the su&0ect#

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