Damien Hirst on Charlie Rose | Interview | Gagosian

the newspaper the Guardians Jonathan Jones writes that the whole of recent British art is a footnote to damien hirst brilliance first emerge for the first time more than twenty years ago was one of the young British artists their work came to define the contemporary art scene of the 1990s since then he has shocked and challenged and thrilled audiences with his works bold themes and ironic wit his new exhibition complete spot paintings 1986 to 2011 features more than 300 paintings from his fame spot series it will take place simultaneously across all of Google Jones gallery locations in New York and London and Paris Los Angeles in Rome and Athens Geneva and Hong Kong here is Damon her speaking about the exhibit as it was been installed earlier this week in any one painting there's never two colors the same the first painting I ever did I did a black spot on it and then I never did a black again I only used colors and then the gaps between the spots is equal to the spot size so that's just goes throughout and then no to cause the same on any painting and then I try and then I just choose chose the colors randomly so I just want to create random but random is a very complicated thing isn't it because I mean I remember having an argument with a an assistant of mine who did lightened 6 or 7 yellows in a row and I mean that's not random and he said yes it is and in the end I think it I mean in the end I sort of avoided that but I think you know you would get six or seven years in a row if you're making truly random but I just mix up tens of colors and lay them out on the floor and then my assistants will transfer onto canvas but you know I'm sort of a like I said before it's a kind of retro old 50s pain to the idea of you know I love you know making decisions about color and putting colors next to each other you know I never I look at a painting and I put four colors together I got to choose my favorite four colors on my favorite nine colors and you know you can you sit and look at them for ages so I think secretly I like to make those decisions but I love it in the paintings it looks like you know it's I'm a scientist and not an artist that was done by our producer Courtney let's the complete spot paintings opens worldwide on January 12 and very pleased to have Damian hurt back at this table welcome you've been coming a regular you know that as you said when you walked in you qualified enemy irregular yeah it's been a long time but happy many times how are you very good nice then you said to me also as you sat down that this is the combination of the huge mammoth ego yeah you re good goes you yeah larga gaussians megalomania combined with mine I guess yeah reduces this yeah I mean you know I was thinking probably the first time I came on the show right you Larry probably had two galleries maybe exactly right there you know one side the sports show there were nine and by the time I did this this show there's eleven and you had a billion dollars already let's talk about these um it obviously began with one painting what was it you love color wow that they've got you to do a spot and instantly make it I always like to sort of throw paint around and you know kind of messy and I was into kind of that's what I was taught by you know fifties painters not good no I mean in England but you know kind of gestural painters who believe that you know your paint how you feel and if you're feeling happy you do an orange paint if you sad you do a brown purple poverty Ray Allen and I kind of believed in that and believed it was the truth and but then I got into conceptual art when I went to school in England yeah and I kind of realized it wasn't the truth so they're like you know but I loved color so I just created a kind of a grid where I could make those decisions but we're in the end result it was never you know they're not you know that you're not gonna get it's denied in a way you know how many are there are these um we worked it out in the Catholic resonators in totals in about twenty four years nothing there's a thousand five hundred approx paintings do about sixty a year I've been doing for 24 years yeah you did the first five yourself actually looking in the gallery I think I might have done the first twenty-five but we got I said five but I've noticed a few others if we're the spots are more like squatty a Hackett can you tell yeah I mean you know me well you know through the years I mean when I first made him I thought okay I'm going to do these paintings and I wanted to look from a distance like they're made by a crazy machine you know like no eyes but they're made by machine but close-up I thought I wanted the hand of the eyes so yeah holes where I use the compass to draw the circles a little bits kind of wobbly and then of over the years they've just got more and more perfect so now they look you know you just can't tell that it's important the man-made bro on to look machine-made you've always said that I mean you the idea that everything's not done by you is something that you have been totally transparent about because you believe what I mean you know the best way to look is you know architects don't build their own houses do they I mean you know in my mind when I first did the first spot I said I want this to be an endless series you know when I do a show I do about you know I like to see about 30 works or something like that so you know show off the show you want to do all these paintings and you know if you do them all yourself you know it's just not enough hours in the day yeah ah the fact that this is a global exhibition are you gonna go from town to town to town to town yeah we're running all over the place I'm catching LA after this for the opening but we've we've had them all open simultaneously so obviously company in all the same places at the same time but we could have a closing in London you know I'm gonna make sure I go to all the shows and be kind of doing a dinner you know smoked in it well they start off as small dinners but then I get phoned up and they say there's gonna be a DJ no nuts yeah what does it mean to you these um I mean I don't know I mean you need to try and do many many many things you know when you're making a painting I mean you know I always think painting is a crazy sort of meaningful things you know I mean we've come a long way since we were living in caves you know you're all you know even when were in caves you want something on the walls but you know for me that the spot paint is just you know they never get boring and it's like I've been doing it for 24 years you just seen I was used to think well if I put this outside the bar when he was closing would it still be there in the morning even if it's if it is then it's not a good painting do you call them characterize them as deceptively simple I don't think the arts implement it's a simple structure a grid but I think once you put the clothes in them and you know that they never keep still I mean all the greatest ideas are simple really anyway our next earlier sure you know simple and if you can make them simpler than the better they are and the more and widely played I mean I think it's like one plus one equals three you know you're trying to take make something that is amounts to more than its ingredients yeah of course my friend Robert Hughes oh yeah my friend is maybe not my friend well how you'd like him he said these were silly abstractions yeah it's funny cuz when I was a kid I you know I remember being you know growing up on the shock of the new you know Wow okay so they sort of come full circle and go through all that and then and then get to the point where you've Robert Hughes doesn't like the paintings you just think that's just nuts well I mean maybe the too shocking and new yeah does it bother you at all a little bit then well now I mean maybe you know it's like you know sort of success you've got to go well you know how do you measure success and you can't really measure it in other people's terms you've got to constantly try measure in your own and how do you measure it well they always think you know like I said you know that idea about the pub you know that you know you put it on the floor outside the public arrest rate immensely successful I remember I read it I didn't read a read a Goya book when I was on holiday on the beach in ass off though right I'm not working now no painting I'm on the beach and reading a book on Goa by Robert Hughes exactly that's a wrote the book I'm going five pages in its head and going wasn't like Damien Hirst or something yeah god I couldn't read the book no kind of I don't like him today so sparred my reading that's the only bad thing you read a lot about other artists yeah I mean if it's good you know I mean you know when I started I remember when I was younger when it's the Leeds art gallery what's all the books a podcast where you're born Lee you've got to read all this before I can start yeah but you know you can only read so much can you yeah well it's true you can only read see I never dreamed I'd have a book with my name on it in there oh is that in the lead library yeah how many books of your name were in the leaf library don't know not many I don't they have done that many but you know more than one yeah so what is it I mean tell me where you are in the evolution of a life in art and out yeah um I don't know I mean I feel very lucky you know got you know a lot of you know I've got a lot of freedom you know I've got uh you know made a lot of work I mean a smoking a lot of money made a lot of money but but interestingly you and Andy Warhol have made that sort of acceptable yeah I mean I think it without under Warhol I wouldn't have sort of gone so gung-ho into it birthing you know I mean a lot of people say oh my god you know you've got factory you know you always think well you know factories can make dog food well they can make you know Porsches ours you know great cars or something like that you know so it's not the process is not you know I mean I thinking it doesn't really matter how you get where you're going as low as what you get what you want is enough and you want what I mean it's different for everything you know sometimes I go in my studio I just think what that look all this stuff this guy's insane you know it's like one minute I want to spot painting the other and I want a spin painting and you know I kind of imagined that you know it's almost like there's a lot of ice in here what do you think people don't get about this pipe paintings probably the simplicity or you know I mean I think that's funny that I mean there's a big difference between art and craft as well I mean I get asked a lot where people go you know you don't paint your own paintings but you know it's like that's never been a problem to me in the same way that I said but you know like architects not building their own houses but you know that you know the ones that I did paint myself sell for more money so I think it's just a strange quirk of the market for me I'd always go further you serving to more affection I'd always go for perfection you know the ones that I painted look kind of awkward and let's see what about posters what about posters what do you think of posters yeah love them yeah but not you know wait I had this thing where somebody would you know I'm sort of torn where you go which do you prefer as an artist the Mona Lisa painting would you like to be the guy who made the Mona Lisa or do you like the postcards and t-shirts and hearing you said those cards yeah and I like both I like the two did you say postcards wanted to pose that way mmm support I suppose you know the postcards got the biggest impact but there's you know something amazing about you know the unique wonderful painting even though you can't see it because it's neon bulletproof glass I have yet me you are but tell me about this jacket you have on with the solid across bones that's a nice it's actually it's Japanese designers designers called mastermind yeah but you know I've kind of found it after I did the diamond skulls for thought yeah that's me that's you after the Dan Scott is that your biggest creation the damage skull um I said recently in an interview probably I could pick my top four you know wait what to take from the burning building or visa are you good some what would they be shock yeah sure you couldn't take iron skull yeah we must go right maybe depends where the fire started I guess a shock the diamond skull a thousand years at a spot painting it's my painting those would be the five you'd rescue before yeah yeah yeah um and so what might you be doing ten years from now got no idea I mean I got loads of crazy ideas I've been working on in studios I was constantly experiment yeah I mean a lots of things don't ever make it into the galleries you know as an artist you make a lot of things in the studio that kind of not something knows I'm toying with the idea of doing some primate paintings where I get monkeys in the studio and actually makes and I bought some monkey paint these are live monkeys yeah I'm thinking about it but I might you know make some you know I think I might make the paintings and then work with the monkeys and is this you know it's not gonna be it's just straightforward but you know I want to make the paintings that look like you know a little bit better than monkey painting so you just go are they by the monkeys or they're not by the monkeys but you know the whole idea is I'm all the time I'm thinking I'm thinking is this not so is this a good idea you know finish this sentence for me with that Charles Saatchi Damien Hirst would be Charlie Rose I don't know receptors that does the reverse main Charlie Rose with Charles Saatchi would have been Damien Hirst I don't I'd probably be making work there was a lot smaller yeah you know I remember you know because when I came into the art world there's like Cork Street in London you know there were painters like Peter Blake and Richard Hynes and we're making small paintings and then such you I remember going in now is just blown away by the scale this is a nineteen nineties problem yeah and I think that's what you know for me and my generation of eyes I think that's what made us sort of work globally you're like in America I'm trying to get him on the show would you waiting for me yeah he didn't like TV thank you exactly last time I saw me likes me but he doesn't like TV that is ya know he can do I'll dress up wasn't very windy very William you be him come in and be troll sir I'll do him a tape you have a Charles Saatchi impression uh I don't know last time I saw him I he was so disappointed that stop smoking is like I've really met he was disappointed but he still smokes and not more discipline than he does well I don't know it's like brand loyalty isn't it yeah look at these and tell me exactly what you see it's 1991 it is my it's a methyl October up funnel Emile oh yeah so and if its method when I first started them they all began with a for the first year yeah they were all like with that this is 1991 began from the late nineteen okay let's take a look at number two this is controlled substance key painting oh yeah wow yeah yeah yeah so I did a series which were controlled substances because it was up there were all the paintings are named after drugs from this yeah and these were the controls and these are the drugs I need right now for my call yeah you're not sounding good now the next number three is take number three what's that oh that's the notice but I never do very few squares kind of an odd one but well yeah so so why why do you do very few squares I don't know I like them to sort of be awkward the square seems can perfect you didn't ask too many questions about yet when the first one ones I was doing were like nine by ten spots 10 by 11 yeah that's and the next one is a Libra fan all 1995 right yeah that's actually a controlled substance painting and that's the key painting that goes with it oh I see oh that's great okay so this is fine let's see it yeah yeah if you like that day why do you like I like em all you know you do well cuz what I found is that when I look at any painting it's like if I have it on the wall in my house yeah I'm always picking out four spots at nine spots so when you see nine together they just worked really well what would on your wall at the house I did have a spot painting that I've got the tendency to soft Turnham yeah cuz I get kind of bored of him so I cut under they never have enough horror down it didn't you sell one at one time for like 300 pounds and then have to buy back and paid twice as much yeah I mean I did that was sergeant I bought a lot of work back I mean yeah I buy something about it what Denny would you once had an exhibit and what you sold everything at auction oh yeah no remember that 2008 yeah yeah yeah Charles actually came up and shook my hand and said I love that you know you didn't put it at an exhibition at a gallery so they could see just I mean I did I mean just so many people all the way through my career at that point just went you know you cannot sell your carrot go to the auction houses you can't go into auction you can't not torch like it's kept I mean a lot of the things I've done have always been about people said said why you know why can't you do that why you know they said to me you can't be an artist under curator I went you know watch it do this I guess it's childish really okay how much you make out of that auction it's like two hundred million dollars or something totally nuts oh it was the day that Lehman Brothers collapsed I mean that that morning that I woke up and I got the newspaper and it said Black Monday it was a Monday and I just went oh what have I done yeah everywhere every people say to me oh you're so smart and I'm like it's not smile doing that then I was like Michelle close it could have been so wrong so what do you do with all the money heimo I mean up a bottle of huh you know what I'm not you really it's no but you know I've got a member to me what do you see him in London and I bought you know bacon who's a great friend of mine Francis Bacon you knew him well and I didn't know him oh you know I was around I believe it but I never really did you know said well loosing freud was a friend yeah yeah I mean I got to know him more what's that at lunch with Lucien and talked about bacon it was about really yeah there was the most amazing conversation I've ever had with an artist yeah he's great isn't he yeah such a great guy losing yeah he's so timid a friend when I first met you know I did the fly piece and he said to me Damien Damien I think you may have started with the final act so that would that pieces if you're never gonna make a head piece after speaking of final act there's something about you that you you honor death you have got house in Mexico I don't know if honor is the right well what sir I worried it he'll Mia I think you know in life you know I'm nothing I mean I was talking about my parents you know to confront things he can't avoid and that's just one of those things you know and I think well you know you get this good can't be you know it can't be something can you paint death and I think painting is all about life really yes but you know I mean death celebration I mean I suppose you've got a blinding it's celebration your black painting you know but I think painting is I think death is not painting yeah so life is life is painting it's that great I mean there's a great quote by Beck isn't there where he said death doesn't require us to make a day free I love that okay I guess if you like negative yeah cool yeah very good you know all right let's take a look at eight yeah there's another controlled substance painting you know it's like is it I mean in the beginning I always made the grid the same so you could drop by pine you could throw pine yeah 19 4 2005 yeah so in the beginning I always started with you know I made all the decisions of big decisions about what the whole thing is gonna be so the spots are equal to the gap between the spots you know to cause of the same on a painting right and then I think this is the first one well just when I turned to grid 90 degrees and you get like the grids off-center speak to this idea that you need an artist needs to get the public's attention after yeah man I always think that you have to get people listening to you before you can change the minds I mean I think you know I think I mean you know I'm a suppose when I came into that my you know my idea and nutrition originally was you know I'm just going to paint and you know if I'm gonna put the paintings in the corner of the studio and if I did get discovered great and if I don't get discovered then maybe I'll be lucky and be discovered after I'm dead you know that was the my sort of idea in the beginning and then you know the kind of men go thing yeah I suppose and then you and then you look at it and then you look at the world you just think that's not what the world's about and then it my art school in London they just said you know you need an audience and and then we worked it out we just we're all you got to do is get white building and packed you know a building painted white and buy some wine and invite people and you get you know your work starts to live so you know anyone can get an audience and then when she do you go to I say well what am I going to tell him all right take a look at that this is the complete spot paintings 1986 to 2011 exhibition takes place at once at once all across of the get go Xion galleries 11 locations in New York London Paris Los Angeles Rome Athens Geneva and Hong Kong it runs from January 12th which is tomorrow until February 18 2012 thank you great to see you do Tim oh thanks Amy a nurse

Channel: Gagosian

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Keywords: Gagosian, Gagosian Gallery, Contemporary Art, Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Exhibition, Contemporary Art 2020, Art Exhibition Music, Contemporary Artists, Gagosian Artist, Gagosian Damien Hirst, damien hirst, damien hirst interview, damien hirst documentary, damien hirst veil, damien hirst spot painting, damien hirst studio, artist techniques, how to become an artist, art interview, artist interview, charlie rose, charlie rose interview, damien hirst charlie rose

Id: o3DFRM1NgqQ

Length: 18min 25sec (1105 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 20 2012