„Nova religija“ je svetilište posvećeno boginji Želji, kojoj Herst prilaže dela s potrebom da smrt drži na bezbednoj udaljenosti
nov način čitanja Biblije. Razne pri- če o čudima i proročanstvima nisu oslikane samo kroz različite osobi- ne medikamenata nego postaju na- zivi lekova od kojih bi trebalo da ozdravimo. Grafike pojedinačnih pilula još više naglašavaju te teme, a ostale grafike, lobanje i leptira, sugerišu odgađanje života obuze- tog smrću. Verovanje je kao i umet- nost, iluzija, kako je Karl Marks identifikovao religiju, koja prekriva, čak i odgađa stvarnost – reči su En- drua Vilsona, dobrog poznavaoca Herstovog opusa. Svedeno na suštinu: nova re- ligija je nauka. Nauka obezbeđu- je lekove na recept, daje iluziju be- skonačnosti života, štaviše, radi na tome da nekoga može da va- skrsne. Sličnosti s religijom (ba- rem hrišćanskom) očigledne su. U krajnjoj instanci Nova religija je svetilište posvećeno boginji Želji, kojoj Herst prilaže svoja dela s ne- savladivom (ljudskom) potrebom da smrt drži na bezbednoj udalje- nosti! Dejmijen Herst je odavno bri- tanski brend. Ne bez razloga i tre- nutno najmoćniji čovek u svetu umetnosti, iako mu deo kritike za- mera da je više preduzetnik nego pravi umetnik.
“New Religion” is a shrine dedicated to the goddess of Desire, in which Hirst links his work with the need to keep death at a safe distance
“I remember that I thought four things were important in life: religion, love, art and science. At their best, they are still just tools that help you find your way through the darkness. None of them is perfect, but they help. Of all of them, it seems that sci- ence was the right choice. Like religion, it brings a ray of hope that everything will be okay in the end.” These words of Damien Hirst could in the shortest possi- ble sense provide a summary of his current reflection and the essence of the exhibition “New Religion”, which, via the British Council and his London gallerist Paul Stolper, has been arranged at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina in Novi Sad. Who actually is Damien Hirst (51), an artist or anti-artist? Art has long been expressed through new media - innovative, tech- nological, digital... Hirst explored this endless potential starting with his diamond replica of a skull, exposing a dove with broken wings, placing a great white shark in an fish tank, a sheep in for- maldehyde, and covering a canvas with butterfly wings, with his so-called pharmaceutical pictures. With this installation, as well as his previous, much more shocking works, Hirst clearly portrays the stance that he is of the belief that science and religion are two separate reflections, one cold and rational, the other warm and full of love for man. Hirst strives to find a connection between them, some kind of trail, per- haps even permeation. - Those table-top votive exhibits are surrounded by the cy- cle of prints that confirm Hirst’s vision as a marriage of the sa-
cred and the profane. Medical records, apparently rational- ly arranged and structured as a graphic, become a new way of reading the Bible. Various stories about miracles and prophe- cies are not only painted through the different characteristics of medication, rather they become the names of drugs which should cure us. With prints of individual tablets these themes are emphasised even more, while other prints – of skulls and butterflies – suggest the prolonging of life by taking away death. Belief, like art, is an illusion, as Karl Marx identified re- ligion, which covers and even postpones reality – says Andrew Wilson, a connoisseur of Hirst’s oeuvre. Reduced to its essence: the new religion is science. That’s be- cause science provides prescription drugs, gives the illusion of the infinity of life and, even more, works on someone being able to be resurrected!? The similarities with religion (at least Christi- anity) are obvious. Ultimately, “New Religion” is a shrine dedicat- ed to the goddess of Desire, in which Hirst links his work with the insurmountable (human) need to keep death at a safe distance! Damien Hirst has long been a British brand. Not without reason, he is also currently the most powerful man in the art world, although some critics suggest with resentment that he is more an entrepreneur than a proper artist. The audience, how- ever, standing before his works, at first glance wonders wheth- er they are works of art or natural history exhibits, or prints of advertisements for medicines. Until they realise that they are a fierce critique of neoliberalism, which also pays dearly.
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