On the Way to Work

by Gordon Burn, Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst and his friend, the writer Gordon Burn, provide in On the Way to Work a fascinating window into the mind of one of the most successful artists of the turn of the 21st century. The book, which is beautifully produced, illustrated, and typeset, is a collection of interviews, the first on the eve of Hirst's first major exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London--when he unveiled his infamous shark suspended in a vat of formaldehyde (1991's wonderfully titled The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. While the book is certainly skewed toward the later years (one interview in January 1992, one in April 1996, three in 1999, and seven in 2000), the reader does get a broad overview of how Hirst's relationships to life, art, and money have progressed. Hirst's fame, his spearheading of the YBA (young British artists) phenomenon, and his subsequent exposure in the gossip columns with the well-documented, and inevitable, drug and drink stories, are all fully covered here. But it is Hirst's genuinely profound artistic imagination and insight that best come across: his obsession with death--and with needing to prove his talent as a way to be immortalized in order to escape death--and his ambivalence toward art (the kind of ambivalence much of the public itself exhibits toward modern art) are key here. Also illuminating is Hirst's respect and admiration for Francis Bacon, as well as our discovery of Hirst's skill as a raconteur. If most visual artists show a disappointing inability to discuss their creations, Hirst, at least, shows an enviable ability to tell a divertingly good story: proof, if any were needed, of his working-class roots and his fidelity towards them (surely only the middle classes would see the selling of the fruit of their artistic labors as selling out).

Hirst, candidly, sees the art world as always part of the work and space of art, and it is a part he sometimes enjoys, sometimes struggles with, and whose successes he has rightly benefited from. In 1996 Hirst displayed the body of a cow cut up and suspended in 12 vitrines. The piece was called Some Comfort Gained from the Acceptance of the Inherent Lies in Everything. Hirst seems to have decided that the inevitability of death, so futilely hidden by a society obsessed with youth and health, is the only truth--or rather, perhaps, the only incisive fact that may help us to fully live now and eschew those lies in which we all swim and in which we are always in danger of drowning. On the Way to Work is an excellent book and much recommended to anyone who has been fascinated by the sudden rise in the visibility of modern art and what it has to say about society at the beginning of the 21st century. --Mark Thwaite, Amazon.co.uk

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Memoir

Paperback

First published November 5, 2001

About the author

Gordon Burn was an English writer born in Newcastle upon Tyne and the author of four novels and several works of non-fiction.

Burn's novels deal with issues of modern fame and faded celebrity, as well as life through a media lens. His novel Alma Cogan (1991), which imagined the future life of the British singer Alma Cogan had she not died in the 1960s, won the Whitbread Award for Best First Novel. His other novels Fullalove and The North of England Home Service appeared in 1995 and 2003 respectively. His non-fiction deals primarily with sport and true crime. His first book Somebody's Husband, Somebody's Son was a study of Peter Sutcliffe, 'the Yorkshire Ripper' and his 1998 book Happy Like Murderers: The Story of Fred and Rosemary West, dealt in similar detail with one of Britain's most notorious serial killers.

Burn's interest in such infamous villains extended to his fiction, with Myra Hindley, one of the 'Moors murderers', featuring prominently in the novel Alma Cogan. His sport-based books are Pocket Money: Inside the World of Snooker (1986) and Best and Edwards: Football, Fame and Oblivion (2006), which deals with the twin stories of Manchester United footballers Duncan Edwards and George Best and the "trajectory of two careers unmoored in wildly different ways."

He also wrote a book with British artist Damien Hirst, On the Way to Work, a collection of interviews from various dates between 1992-2001. He contributed to The Guardian regularly, usually writing about contemporary art.

Reviews

[sisterimapoet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the format and the presentation and the look of the book - a joy to hold and behold.

A little bit repetitive after a while but great to hear Hirst talking at rambling length about what motivates him and his various pieces and how he's changed over the years.

Great to see an interviewer really working the role - asking thoughtful and challenging questions.

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the greatest artist ever, but as an unpretentious and un-Phaidon document of process you'll fine from someone who's sheer gall still manages to offend.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and entertaining insight into one of the most successful contemporary artists.

[Silvia Vernizzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro di interviste a Damien Hirst.
A tratti una lettura difficile, ma che ti aiuta ad entrare nel mondo dell artista contemporaneo piu interessante.

LA SUA IRRIVERENZA
"Un'arte poco gradevole o compiacente, non gliene frega un cazzo delle opinioni degli altri"

IL TEMA DELLA FRAGILITA DELL ESISTENZA
"Ecco perche conserva in formaldeide"
"The physical impossibility of death in the mind of someone living"
"Sono ossessionato dalla morte, non puoi avere la vita senza la morte"
"Quando ero ragazzino volevo sapere cos era la morte e andai all obitorio"
"Se vivi la tua vita, ti diverti, ti comporti bene con le persone a cui vuoi bene, e' perfetto, non importa un cazzo dove lavori. Cosa voglio? Vivere per srmpre e non posso."


IL TEMA ESISTENZIALE
"l arte deve coinvolgermi da un punto di vista esistenziale. Anche se mi fa sbellicare dalle risate, devo sentire qualcosa"
"Ce sempre una logica nella mia testa che mi spinge a ragionare su come bisognerebbe vivere. Arrivo sempre alla conclusione chr bisogna soltanto vivere"
"Mi piacerebbe solo fermarmi e vivere. Vivetr nel presente, esserci e vivere"
"Il genio e' questo. Essere in grado di cantare tutta quella merds mentre ci stai dentro"
"Qualunque cosa nella vita si basa sull unicita. Hai un occasione, una possibilità. Ecco perche e perfetto"
"Ce del magico nelle cose"


LE RELAZIONI
L opera delle farfalle "vuoi una relazione com una persona bellissima, che sia un accessorio, appena uscito da Vogue? O con qualcuno che sia vivo e che morira'?
Io voglio tutti e due"
"Se uja persona ti da qualcosa di veramente personale, qualcosa per cui ha fatto uno sforzo, e la cosa piu importante del mondo"
"Non dormiamo il letti separati. Non diventiamo soli"

LA LUCE
"La luce puo cambiare qualsiasi cosa. Qualsiasi cosa puo sembrare bella"

IL COLORE
"io adoro il colore. I narcisi mi lasciano senza fiato. Credo che dovrebbero mettere segnali stradali che avvisino della presenza di fiori prima di una curva.
Davanti al colore mi manca il respiro"
"Io sono dalla parte di Matisse e del colore:


ARTE E SOLDI. LA FAMA
"L arte e una questione di vita e il mondo ddll arte una questione di soldi"
Opera d arte "history of fame": pallome bianco che si avvicina a coltelli con applausi, quando si allontana disapprovazione
Il suo modo di fare soldi "la gente a cui non frega un cazzo ottiene quello che vuole, e pronta a perdere"

MISSION DELL ARTE
"Vorrei che la mia arte impreziosisca la vita, che la migliori"
"Quando sei artista puoi fare quello che vuoi. Non esiste un idea troppo pazza per l arte"
"L arte è guardare. La gente non guarda. Gli artisti spingono la gente a guardare"
"Ho sempre pensato che l arte, Dio e l amore abbiano un legame molto forte.
Non credendo a Dio non riesco a credere nell arte. Non puoi metterci dentro il dito,e' come un sogno, una pazzia, una cosa strana"
"L arte ti blocca sui binari.
La grabde arte e quells che ti fa fermare quando giri l angolo e dire: "cazzo! Cos e?". E' quando ti trovi davanti a un oggetto con cui hai un rapporto personale, fondamentale, e capisci qualcosa sull essere vivi che non avevi mai capito prima"
"Nell arte devi essere quello che sei"
"Nell arte devi concederti completamente"


LA SUA ARTE
" priva e piena di significato al tempo stesso"

Il TEMPO
"E' come i diamanti. Le cose diventano chiare dopo miliardi di anni"

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

After enjoying Alma Cogan so much, looked into what else Gordon Burn had written and turns out he did this book of interviews with Damien Hist which I own and first read probably 15+ years ago. So re-read and yes it’s the amazing questions which make this book work. Burn is so good at probing and provacating. Hirst I find interesting, half genius half irritating bollocks, but never not wanting to make you look and listen.

[M. (they-them) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nel corso degli ultimi cinquant’anni il vocabolario dell’arte si è esteso al punto tale da includere qualsiasi cosa. Da un certo punto di vista qualsiasi cosa può diventare arte. È arte. Damien ci crede.

È una pausa nel mondo, dal mondo. Divertente, sboccato, contiene informazioni precise riguardo la vita, universale nel suo essere peculiare.

[Laila-Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

So interesting to see the changes in him and his views and opinions over the years... the bit that really stuck with me was (and I paraphrase) “I would have found people crazy if they didn’t smoke, now I find people crazy if they do smoke!”. You get a great insight into the man himself.

[KidPolaroid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Damien Hirst and this book is real fun to read. It's also impresive.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

vulgarity is life with the crusts cut off.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

vulgarity is life with the crusts cut off.