£50 million Diamond Skull - Damian Hirst

[Pandora II]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6710000/newsid_6712200/6712245.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm#

The 18th Century skull is cast in platinum and is entirely covered in 8,601 jewels.

The centrepiece of the 41-year-old''s creation is a pear-shaped pink diamond, set in the skull''s forehead.

The £12m-worth of flawless diamonds are said to be ethically sourced.

Hirst said his piece, called For the Love of God, is "uplifting, takes your breath away".

"It works much better than I imagined. I was slightly worried that we''d end up with an Ali G ring," he added.

"You just want it to be flawless, like a diamond is a flawless. We wanted to put them everywhere," Hirst said of the skull.

"They go underneath, inside the nose. Anywhere you can put diamonds, we''ve put diamonds.

 

[yellowsparkles]

I wonder if he sourced his stones through PS?

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Bummer, I can''t see the picture

 

[chrono]

Picture did not attach.

 

[chrono]

Trying again.

 

[Pandora II]

I was going to go and see the Crown Jewels tomorrow - maybe I should visit this instead!

Lol, FI says no way!

 

[Kaleigh]

 

[chrono]

Date: 6/1/2007 3:24:15 PM
Author: Pandora II
I was going to go and see the Crown Jewels tomorrow - maybe I should visit this instead!

Lol, FI says no way!

Believe me, I''d rather see the crown jewels. The skull is just too creepy. Pandora, you''ll love the royal exhibit - it makes you want to be royalty just to wear all those gorgeous jewels and crowns.

 

[Aloros]

I think it''s kind of pretty...in a tacky sort of way.

 

[TravelingGal]

Well, we can definitely say that thing is eye clean.

 

[chrono]

Date: 6/1/2007 3:50:26 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Well, we can definitely say that thing is eye clean.

You mean, no eyes. It''s certainly mind clean too.

 

[Miscka]

hmm I always thought I wanted to be cremated, now I am reconsidering.....

Seriously, though, what a weird way to waste diamonds!

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Interesting. Those teeth are creepy, though.

 

[Harriet]

From the same man who sold a pickled shark for millions.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 6/1/2007 3:27:54 PM
Author: Chrono

Believe me, I''d rather see the crown jewels. The skull is just too creepy. Pandora, you''ll love the royal exhibit - it makes you want to be royalty just to wear all those gorgeous jewels and crowns.

I went to see them when I was at school - and spent the whole time trying to work out if you could possibly nick them!

FI says they are now displayed along a moving walkway - and the website says it takes 20 minutes to view them.

20 minutes

I am so going to annoy people walking backwards on that walkway for hours

 

[chrono]

That's no fun. When I was school age, I went to the exhibit and I stood at each display for the longest time. My family had to nudge me along. There was no moving walkway then. All that seperated me from those jewels are the cases that they were housed in. Man, with a moving walkway I'd be walking backwards all the time too just to gawk at them a little longer.

 

[yellowsparkles]

Date: 6/1/2007 4:44:34 PM
Author: Chrono
That''s no fun. When I was school age, I went to the exhibit and I stood at each display for the longest time. My family had to nudge me along. There was no moving walkway then. All that seperated me from those jewels are the cases that they were housed in. Man, with a moving walkway I''d be walking backwards all the time too just to gawk at them a little longer.

YUP, moving walkway. My first trip to London, I was too poor to spend money on seeing the jewels (backpack trip after high school and london was our final stop). I went with my dad years later and I was zipped along trying to examine the jewels! We were there in Feb, so there weren''t many people. I just wanted to stare and stare... but that darn walkway@!

I was in the Natural History Museum in Washington DC this last January. I lived in DC for three years and never managed a visit. We passed through this winter and I had to see the rocks! Wow. Fantastic! I loved every minute!

 

[Harriet]

I''ve never seen the Crown Jewels. The last time I was in the Tower, I wasn''t interested in gems!

 

[Gypsy]

 

[snlee]

That''s crazy!

 

[luckystar112]

I think it''s tacky yet pretty too.

If the skull was from Africa and the piece was supposed to represent the negative of diamonds instead of the positive I bet it would be a bigger conversation starter.

All those flawless diamonds though....yikes! Where''s he located? I''ll bring my two friends along....ice pick and chisel!

 

[Harriet]

Would any of you want any of those stones?

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 6/1/2007 6:47:42 PM
Author: Harriet
Would any of you want any of those stones?

Yep. I would. I''m not gonna hold someone else''s bad taste against that diamond. Once it''s fully cleaned of ... stuff.

 

[Harriet]

Can it be fully cleaned?

 

[Dee*Jay]

I would buy it, but I''m against owning any piece that I''m not fully comfortable putting in my US cleaner. (Not to mention I doubt this woudld *fit* in my US... )

 

[asscherisme]

That is creepy!

They should make a grill for the teeth for the rapper look LOL. But the teeth is what makes it look human, sort of.

I think its super creepy.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/1/2007 10:12:16 PM
Author: amylikesrocks
That is creepy!

They should make a grill for the teeth for the rapper look LOL. But the teeth is what makes it look human, sort of.

I think its super creepy.

I think it is hideous.

Apparently the teefs are original.

 

[surfgirl]

Date: 6/1/2007 6:38:26 PM
Author: luckystar112
I think it''s tacky yet pretty too.


If the skull was from Africa and the piece was supposed to represent the negative of diamonds instead of the positive I bet it would be a bigger conversation starter.


All those flawless diamonds though....yikes! Where''s he located? I''ll bring my two friends along....ice pick and chisel!

I totally agree with you luckystar. I was reading Hurst''s comments on this piece in yesterday''s Sunday NY Times Magazine section and to me, it seems he did it for sensationalism. He says he didn''t want bling, he wanted to make ''art'', but he doesn''t seem sure what this is despite talking about it in interviews. IIRC, the interviewer asked if it had any connection to blood diamonds and he didn''t seem 100% committed to that either. He said that it became not so funny if he thought about people actually dying for his ability to make this piece (read: to harvest the 8,601 diamonds). He likened himself to Oppenheimer...then when I thought he would say "because I created this thing, this monster that probably has a blood diamond legacy to it..." but instead he was only concerned because the piece is "going to need high security all it''s life." So much for any concern over blood diamonds.

Oh, did I say I think it''s heinous?

 

[pyramid]

http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/news/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=5217674

George Michael looking to buy Cehra''s skull