Wilf: Let ladies lead on London trip

Oct 31 2009 by Wilf Lunn

We looked at the paintings. The one every one knows is The Laughing Cavalier. Then we went on to look at the much criticised Damien Hirst paintings. I know in the past I’ve said there are three groups of artist. The expensivists, the rest and the can’t be bothered.

Damien Hirst put himself in the last group. I think now he can be bothered. Even the subtle blue silk wallpaper he’s set his paintings against has been criticised. I think it’s a perfect background. I’m sick of white.

In the past some portrait painter would paint on a completely red canvas. This gave the over-painted flesh an appearance of having life with blood flowing underneath. Damien Hirst appears to have started on a completely black canvases another old technique. This, of course, suits his main theme which is skulls. I did like his white flowers and butterflies. One painting is called The Meek Shall Inherit The Earth. I prefer the more realistic extended quote: “The meek shall inherit the earth but they won’t keep it for long.’’

My other favourite altered biblical quote is: “The lion shall lie down with the lamb but the lamb won’t get much sleep.’’ Looking at ‘Skull with ashtray and lemon’ painting, I asked the attendants what the significance of the lemon was? No-one knew. I think I found out in the shop he’d included the lemons because he got a job lot of lemon-shaped soap for sale. He knows about merchandising. The gallery had obviously drawn the line at flogging ashtrays. I think with Saint Bartholomew on display they’d perhaps lost an opportunity to sell leather goods with the chocolate skulls and candles.

If you do visit the Wallace Collection it is not advisable to ask where the Gromit Collection is.

Last year at the Victoria and Albert Liz stopped me asking if Obama was coming to the Baroque exhibition.

PS. When I got back to Huddersfield I looked through a pamphlet called Damien Hirst’s Wallace Collection Trail showing the things that had influenced his work. Guess what the last object on it was? The little bronze Hermaphrodite.