I would
like to write about an exhibition in Multimedia Art Museum in Moscow. This
exhibition presents private collection of the famous contemporary artist Damien
Hirst. It is called “FREEDOM NOT GENIUS” and this can be interpreted
differently. For me it seemed to mean that freedom forms a real artist not
genius. Here is what an author says about it:
"Genius is easy. Genius means that everybody
isn’t an artist. Freedom means that everybody is an artist. I believe in
freedom. I don’t believe in genius. I don’t think that artists are special
people. I think they’re normal people who have managed to harness somehow what
is important for everybody. I don’t think they’re born special..." —
Damien Hirst
When I
was planning to visit this exhibition I was quite skeptical and ready to see
something that my friends call “the quintessence of contemporary art” something
that makes you think: “and where is art?”, but Hirst’s collection surprised me
deeply.
I was
surprised from the first works that I saw. It felt not like a gallery or museum
but as an apartment of somebody. I felt like I was expecting to see a sofa or a
kitchen at any second, it was like a journey through the flat and mind of a
person that I’ve already knew somehow. Every object with every second was
becoming a part of an interior, piece of a puzzle. The Wonderland of Damien
Hirst’s mind is made of memories, every work from his collection was
occasionally left in his world by one of his friends. Each work tells something
about Hirst and at the same time it is a dossier on the author. With every gift
a person ever get a piece of a giver comes with it and stays in the life of
that person. Then, all presents from others and things that a person gave
himself, create an image of the mind. “FREEDOM NOT GENIUS” is a ticket to an
amazing journey through one of the most fascinating “interiors” of our time. And
it is incredible to visit Damien Hirst’s mind.
by Ekaterina Frolova
No comments:
Post a Comment