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Art, Money, Ambition: Lessons Learned From Damien Hirst’s Treasures From The Wreck Of The Unbelievable

May 17, 2017 by Joanna Penn 22 Comments

Damien Hirst is my favorite modern artist and sculpture is my favorite physical art form, so when I heard Hirst was doing his latest exhibition in Venice, I booked immediately.

treasures It’s only a two-hour flight and filling the creative well is an important part of my writing process. Plus, it’s Venice … 🙂 Here’s what I learned from the trip and you can see all the photos here on Flickr.

(1) Be memorable. Create a body of work that you’re proud of

We walked into the Palazzo Grassi and were immediately faced by a gigantic 60-foot sculpture of a demon. It had the form of a headless man but with the claws and spine of something not quite of this world. As we walked up the three levels of the Palazzo, it drew our eyes at every turn, beautiful and raw, encrusted with deep sea coral and (seemingly) marked by history. It must have been built inside the venue, because there was no way it could come in any other way.

Demon with Bowl, Damien Hirst

Demon with Bowl, Damien Hirst

Other pieces that particularly stuck out for me: a tableau of Andromeda and the sea monster in brilliant blue, crawling with gigantic crabs, the mouth of the great white shark opening to devour the naked princess. A young goddess with altars either side of her, rust reflecting the orange marigolds. Kali fighting the Hydra. A brilliant green head of Medusa with writhing snakes carved from jade. Cronos devouring his children.

These pieces will stick in my mind, alongside Hirst’s Anatomy of an Angel, For the Love of God, and I am Become Death, Shatterer of Worlds – his butterfly canvas that captures ephemeral beauty into a form of stained glass. His work is truly unforgettable, so what about our writing?

We only have one life and the hours tick away every day. What do you want to use that time to create? What is the body of work that you want people to remember?

These were the questions that I thought about as I turned for one last glimpse at the gigantic demon.

(2) Create a story and an experience around the work

After the entrance hall, two small cinemas played videos of the discovery of the wreck off the east coast of Africa. A ship had sunk, filled with treasures collected by a rich ex-slave from all over the world, and the pieces had been brought up two thousand years later. The videos showed divers finning around the pieces on the ocean floor, eerie scenes of torchlight playing over the ancient figures, then lift bags and winches carrying them to the surface where archaeologists cleaned them off.

cyclops

Skull of cyclops, Damien Hirst

There were photographs around the exhibition as well, the skull of the cyclops on the sea floor next to the recovered piece, a diver hovering by it. A unicorn with horn intact underwater and then the cleaned piece with the horn broken off in a glass case, with a label explaining that it had broken in the recovery process. I don’t know whether they sunk the pieces in order to film and photograph them, or whether it was all CGI, but it was a very cool artifice.

Each piece was labelled as in a museum, with a description of mythology and meaning. In a corner of each room were the labels you’d expect in an art gallery, with descriptions of the materials used for the piece. But they were discreet, and you’d only find them if you were looking.

We heard one of the tour guides explaining how a particular gold monkey had been found in the net of a fisherman and led to the wreck being found, and a woman talking about how incredible it was that they had found all this under the ocean.

The wreck story was maintained across the whole exhibition, which was structured more like a museum than an art gallery. There were glass cases with lines of coins and weapons, reminiscent of the Assyrian rooms in the British Museum. 

The story behind the experience heightened our appreciation of the work. We found ourselves smiling and shaking our heads at how clever the design was, and the incredible attention to detail needed to maintain the fantasy.

Of course, we can’t necessarily create such an intricate web of story around our books, but we can share the journey and our influences as we create. We can also include Easter eggs in our stories, weaving in cultural and series references that make our readers smile along the way.

(3) Steal like an artist

kali hydra

Kali fights the Hydra. Damien Hirst

Each piece was rich in mythology, and the creativity came in combining them into something new.

Examples include a giant sculpture of Kali, multi-armed goddess from Indian Hindu culture, fighting the Hydra, the many-headed snake from Greek myth. A Mickey Mouse figure, aged and covered in coral, as if the modern world had imposed itself back into the ancient. A woman, draped in folds of a Greek dress, with the head and wings of a fly in a parody of Kafka’s Metamorphosis. The foot of a colossus with a wrinkled mouse scurrying across it, an ear growing out of its back. Ancient weapons, swords and spears, with a futuristic gun in the middle, the juxtaposition of ancient and modern, all found under the sea.

There are no rules. You can take ideas from all cultures, all civilisations. You will never be stuck for ideas if you mine the riches of what has gone before and then turn it into something new.

(4) Art, money, ambition

The last night we were in Venice was also the opening night of the Biennale, when the city celebrates the art world. The uber-rich arrive in their super-yachts and the parties begin. There is serious money in Venice all year round, but it definitely spikes during the Biennale.

goddess

Aspect of Katie Ishtar Yolandi, Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst chose to set his exhibition in Venice for a reason. Some of the pieces had to have been designed for the two venues – the Palazzo Grassi and the Punta Della Dogana. But there’s also the fact that it is a fantastic showcase for his artwork at a time when some of the richest collectors are in the city. As art fills the canal sides, his work stands as the most dominant, even just by sheer volume at 189 pieces of art.

After the exhibition ends, many of the pieces will disappear into the hands of collectors, and some will end up in galleries. I hope the 60-foot demon will be somewhere public because it is truly awesome. But a lot of it will be sold, and the money will be used to start building Hirst's next ambitious creation. This show has taken nearly 10 years and many millions to create. 

I love his ambition and the fact that Damien Hirst chooses to play at the top end of the market.

Some of the artworks looked priceless, as if they had come out of a museum, and that will affect the price tag. Hirst definitely doesn’t ascribe to the myth of the ‘starving artist in the garret.' He is more in the mould of Picasso than Van Gogh, the former artist wealthy and prolific in his lifetime, dying with an estate worth around $500 million.

I meet so many authors who sell themselves short, when control and ownership of intellectual property assets can be worth so much more in the long run. Hirst has built his reputation over years, moving from smaller works to larger scale projects and now this, the Unbelievable, perhaps his most ambitious work yet. In the same way, we can build our careers over time and create an impressive body of work – and accumulate wealth – if that's what we want.

(5) The creative scale of the artist’s workshop

Demon with Bowl, Damien Hirst.

Demon with Bowl, Damien Hirst.

Damien Hirst did not personally make every piece in the exhibition. Just like Michelangelo didn’t paint the Sistine Chapel by himself.

Artists who work on this scale have a workshop, assistants, other craftspeople who turn their ideas into reality. Does this make them any less of an artist? 

I don't think so. Because this scale of creative ambition is way beyond one person to create in a lifetime.

Do we ask architects to build their own structures? Or expect chefs to cook every dish?

In the writing world, the equivalent would be James Patterson, who co-writes with lots of other authors, although the stories originate in his mind. Plenty of authors criticise Patterson in the same way that artists accuse Damien Hirst of selling out or ‘not being a real artist.' I don't think either of them pays any attention. They just get on with making their art. 

I highly recommend Patterson's fantastic Masterclass, which changed my mindset around co-writing and led to Risen Gods and American Demon Hunters: Sacrifice. Kindle Worlds is a similar idea, as is the comic book world of Marvel. In the indie author world, Michael Anderle has started with this kind of approach, working with other authors to create in his fictional Kurtherian world.

I think this ‘workshop' approach to writing will expand along with the indie community as it is increasingly easy to collaborate on projects that are much more ambitious than one writer could handle alone. 

Overall, Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable was an incredible exhibition and if you can get to Venice to see it, then I highly recommend it. If not, check out my photos here. 

Please join the conversation and leave any thoughts or questions in the comments below. 

7 Lessons For Writers From Leonardo Da Vinci

January 14, 2012 by Joanna Penn 34 Comments

OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn

One of the reasons I moved back to London from Australia was the density of cultural treasures in this area of the world.

My muse is European and I find my inspiration in art, architecture and culture. They feature heavily in my novels Pentecost and Prophecy.

London's National Gallery is currently hosting a Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition; Painter at the Court of Milan and last night I went to see it. As I walked around and read his own words, the similarities between visual art and writing became more apparent.

1) Creation of a idealized world.

Leonardo's finished paintings were often not direct pictures of the real world. They were improvements or allegories or portrayal of myth and story. Our writing is often the same. We take aspects of the world and knit them together to create hyper-reality, or we twist things, enhance aspects or disguise them. From the words of Leonardo himself, “If the painter wishes to see beauties that would enrapture him, he is master of their production; and if he wishes to see monstrous things…he is their Lord and God…in fact, therefore, whatever there is in the Universe through essence, presence or imagination, he has it first in his mind and then in his hands.”

2) Practice is critical.

I found the practice and study sketches to be the most fascinating part of the exhibition. Leonardo studied anatomy in great detail and sketched parts of the body he was trying to perfect for the finished product. The folded hands, the intricate pattern of the skull, the ermine's paw – all these are sketched for practice and understanding before the finished work is made. In turn, we must practice aspects of the craft – dialogue, character description, setting, point of view. We practice and then later refine our work for the finished product.

3) Character creation

This quote from Leonardo's diaries caught my eye. “When you make a figure, think well about what it is and what you want it do and see that the work is in keeping with the figure's aim and character.” In painting as much as in writing, you have to decide what you want, decide on the way the character will be and then create to that description.

The sketch of the man taken in by gypsies contains five individual characters perfectly portrayed (left). The exhibition also has Leonardo's tiny diaries there where he wrote out ideas for his designs, he often used words instead of images at the first stages of creation.

4) Use of archetypes

The Last Supper is a triumph of archetypes with Judas in particular being dark-skinned, hook-nosed and clutching a bag of money as the racist stereotype of a betrayer. But archetypes appeal to the human mind, we can instantly hang our thoughts on a pre-existing idea and it helps us understand the depths being portrayed. The saints are often pictured with the instruments of their martyrdom, Sebastian with the arrows for example. I love this language of symbolism and try to weave it into my own writing.

5) Multiple drafts

Drafting for the paintings of Leonardo started with the individual sketches and then culminated in a cartoon. The word is used here to describe a technique where a drawing was covered with pinprick size holes and black chalk then used over the surface in order to create a template on the wall or ceiling or wherever the finished piece would go. The gallery featured the Virgin and Child with St Anne pictured right. This is similar to the drafting and editing process all writers go through to create their own masterpieces, with the cartoon as the almost completed final draft before the finished product.

6) Editing

There's a lovely sketch of a kneeling angel where Leonardo has drawn the hand in two places, the same arm raised and lowered, in an attempt to see what the picture would look like with either option. This is an aspect of pentimento, an alteration where the painter has changed his mind during composition. This reminded me of the editing process where we change our work to improve it, either by something we see ourselves or what others help us with. The editing process is crucial to create a fantastic finished product.

7) Artist-entrepreneur

Leonardo's academy of artists

Leonardo was famous being a creative polymath – a painter, sculptor, engineer, but he was also an entrepreneur. He was paid for his works and if he didn't get paid, he sold them elsewhere. The 30 year wait for the payment due for the Virgin of the Rocks is a classic example.

He also had a workshop of artists who did the bulk work for him in order, presumably, to produce more work at a faster pace. I see this in the James Patterson model of writing where he is creative director and has co-writers working with him in order to produce almost a novel a month. Patterson has said “If I'm working with a co-writer, they'll usually write the first draft. And then I write subsequent drafts”. We may criticize his writing but he is one of the highest earning writers in the world and millions buy his books. All artists must consider money in order to survive and then thrive.

If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy these posts inspired by art:

  • Writing as an emerging sculpture: Inspiration from Michelangelo's slaves
  • 15 ways modern art galleries can inspire writers

Do you find art inspiring?

 

Is The Future Of Print Books Limited Edition Beautiful Art?

January 29, 2011 by Joanna Penn 25 Comments

OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn

Kindle ebook sales have now eclipsed paperback sales at Amazon.com which means the way people consume books has fundamentally changed. Even if you haven't embraced the ebook revolution yet, you must admit it's becoming a growing force in publishing.

I have talked before about how my reading habits have changed since I bought my Kindle. Essentially, all my consumption type reading is now on ebooks. By that I mean all fiction and most non-fiction that I will read once and then am unlikely to revisit. I still buy a few print books per year, but maybe one tenth of what I used to.

If you're interested in the future of print, you will need to inspire buyers with something more than they can get in an ebook i.e. it needs to be more than the content itself.

Cory Doctorow is known as a great digital publisher with Creative Commons licensing who focuses on providing information for free in order to sell his work. So it was interesting to hear him talk about this topic with Mur Lafferty on the fantastic I Should Be Writing podcast. In the interview, Cory talks about producing limited edition physical books that cannot be replicated. They would be hand-tooled, made of materials that are individual and not mass market.  The words themselves would be the same as those on an ebook but the physical book would be a work of art and a collector's item for hardcore fans. The author would be able to make a profit by self-publishing a limited number of these and pricing them highly. Cory also spoke of this gorgeous artist's collective where he was going to work with the physical materials himself. It sounded like an idyllic creative haven in London and it sparked romantic notions in me to learn book-binding and create my own art forms.

Here are some of the other physical books that have inspired me lately.

The Red Book – Carl Jung. I am a huge psychology nerd and Jung has always been a specific interest. The Red Book is his personal diary of writing and paintings from a breakdown he went through between 1914 – 1930. It was only published in 2009 after being kept secret by his family for years. I bought the over-sized full reproduction of the book which I also featured prominently in my thriller, Pentecost. You can see it right with a small book for contrast. It is full of gorgeous reproductions of the paintings and calligraphy from Jung's hand. The text isn't particularly inspiring for general reading but the physical book is a masterpiece.

Tree of Codes. Jonathan Safran Foer took a book he loved, “The Street of Crocodiles” by Bruno Schulz and cut it up to make another story by removing specific pieces of the text with die-cutting. Check out the video below. It's a brilliant idea but definitely more art than book.

For biblioholics who want more, here are 10 visual artists who make art with books.

Do you buy limited edition print books? What are your thoughts about the future of print?

Image: Flickr CC Broniart

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Most of the information on this site is free for you to read, watch or listen to, but The Creative Penn is also a business and my livelihood. So please expect hyperlinks to be affiliate links in many cases, when I receive a small percentage of sales if you wish to purchase. I only recommend tools, books and services that I either use or people I know personally. Integrity and authenticity continue to be of the highest importance to me. Read the privacy policy here. Read the Cookie policy here. I hope you find the site useful! Thanks - Joanna

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