What is Art? Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst is an English artist, entrepreneur,and art collector. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest living artist, with his wealth valued at 215 million. He became extremely famous for his series of dead animals (including a shark, a sheep and a cow) preserved sometimes having been dissected in formaldehyde. Hirst mainly specializes in conceptual art, installation art and painting. One of my favorite pieces by Damien Hirst is Verity. Verity is a stainless steel and bronze statue that stands over 66ft tall. She stands on the pier at the entrance to the harbor in Ilfracombe, Devon, looking out over the British Channel towards South Wales. The name refers to "truth" as Hirst describes his work as a "modern allegory of truth and justice". The statue depicts a pregnant woman holding a sword while carrying the scales of justice and standing on a pile of law books. Half of the sculpture shows the internal anatomy of a pregnant woman, with the fetus visible. When Hirst first put Verity where she stands today, the locals reaction was very negative as they thought it was ugly and said that it was unsuitable for a Victorian seaside town. I have actually been fortunate to go and see the statue and I have got to say it is pretty incredible as she is so detailed.