Damien Hirst and Angus Fairhurst dressed as clowns during ‘A Fete Worse Than Death’ 1993 photo: © Guy Moberly
Penguin to publish Damien Hirst’s autobiography next year, ghosted by James Fox (wrote Keith Richard’s). Exposé of opaque artworld promised.
Penguin Books has promised to push the book in the a “radical” manner.
Hirst was one of the founding members of the Young British Artists (YBA) movement, which also counted Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas and Mark Wallinger amongst its numbers.
Many of them were students at Goldsmiths College in London in the late 1980s. Their first major exhibition, in a warehouse, attracted a number of influential art collectors, including Charles Saatchi – who would later become one of his Hirst’s greatest supporters.
Speaking on the Today programme, Fox said:
“He (Hirst) grew up in a pretty bad situation, with his mother, and he and his gang – many of whom became YBA artists, spent half their time housebreaking, stealing, [indulging in] criminality, and the rest of their time indulging their passion for art, which started very early on in their years.
“I found that completely fascinating, moving, the idea of a saving connection to art. The fearlessness of Damien, his ability to take on authority, to never say anything can’t be done, to break all the rules. That very much comes from that background.”
VIA:@WillGompertzBBC
