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Damien Hirst

Kirsty Young interviews contemporary artist Damien Hirst.

Kirsty Young's guest this week is the artist Damien Hirst.

Life, death, desire, fear, beauty, horror - his creative preoccupations are standard fair; his art - using sharks, maggots, butterflies, glass, formaldehyde and even sometimes paint - is not. His best known works have become iconic symbols of contemporary culture and his exhibitions and auctions attract attention the way a carcass attracts flies.

Growing up in Leeds his mother was something of an early artistic influence - she had dots painted on the front door and whenever Damien said he'd finished a drawing, she'd lay another sheet of paper down and tell her son "carry on."

He once said, "People don't like contemporary art but all art starts life as contemporary. I'm sure there were people in caves going 'I like your cave but I hate that crap you've got on the wall'."

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 17 May 2013 09:00

Music Played

  • The Clash

    The Magnificent Seven

    • The Clash: The Singles.
    • Epic Legacy.
  • The Trashmen

    Surfin鈥 Bird

    • Billboard Top Pop Hits - 1964.
    • Cascade.
  • Joni Mitchell

    Big Yellow Taxi

    • Joni Mitchell: Hits.
    • KM.
  • The Beatles

    Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey

    • The White Album.
    • Britannia Music.
  • Bob Andy

    You Don鈥檛 Know

    • Fire Burning.
    • Andisongs.
  • Ian Brown

    F.E.A.R.

    • Ian Brown: The Greatest.
    • Polydor.
  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros

      X Ray Style

      • Rock Art and the X-Ray Style.
      • Mercury.
  • The Stone Roses

    I Am the Resurrection

    • The Complete Stone Roses.
    • Sony.
  • Book Choice

    • The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors Even, Again - Richard Hamilton

  • Luxury Choice

    • A work of art by Roger Hiorns called 鈥淯ntitled 2009鈥

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest Damien Hirst
Producer Cathy Drysdale

Broadcasts

  • Sun 12 May 2013 11:15
  • Fri 17 May 2013 09:00

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