Warhol, Hirst and Branding

Vincent Anthony Falkiewicz

Erica Gilbert-Levin  

Damien Hirst is the wealthiest artist alive. He is also "more famous, and maybe even more powerful, than any living artist" (Thompson, 20). How did he achieve this status?

Hirst's success ensues from a brilliant marketing strategy. As artist Dinos Chapman noted, Hirst's skull painting is "'a work of genius – not the art, the marketing'" (Thompson, 69). Hirst has combined several tactics to achieve this marketing "work of genius." He produces his work in mass quantities, employing forty assistants in four different factories. In art world dictum, mass production may equate to the devaluation of artistic works, but Hirst has eschewed such precepts, and it seems to have paid off. Mass production has enabled Hirst to reach, well, the masses, and in so doing to create name recognition that in turn drives up the prices at which he is able to sell his art. Hirst is also not afraid to use a broad range of commercial marketing strategies to raise his profile: He "emulates fashion designers in also selling a diffusion brand line," so that "visitors unable to afford [his] paintings or the signed prints [...] could purchase T-shirts" (Thompson, 67). His tactics, if sensationalistic, are difficult to top: He was the "first artist to have his work sent into space," and his art has appeared in popular movies "representing the art and culture of the 20^th century (Thompson, 68). Hirst will take any opportunity available to ensure that more people know his name. Mass marketing, mass production, combined with a proclivity for attaching brilliant, rather sensationalistic titles to his pieces and thereby guaranteeing discussion and publicity, has allowed Hirst to muscle his way into the status of name brand to the point where people buy "Hirsts," not Hirst paintings (Thompson, 66).  As a result of Hirst's "flair for marketing" the exploitation of branding techniques, "his art brings in people who would never otherwise view contemporary art," thereby broadening cultural interchange and discussion.

Hirst in his gallery, followed by several photos of his works:

Kimberly Ann Phoenix

Jeff Koons sees nothing wrong with the way his art is produced.  He basically oversees the arts creations; he designs it and any where from 95 to 120 technicians sculpts or cast objects.  In some of his early work common household object placed in water or mounted on lights to become art.  He is unashamed of his work or the way it is produced comparing himself to the masters (Dannatt) or Andy Warhol.

            His marketing strategy could be larger then life.  Many of his sculptures are large meant to be viewed in large spaces or out doors.
He has, or his technicians have done some smaller sculptures but a lot of his work is large.  He has called some his paintings large sophisticated paint by numbers.  In the workshop you can see many people working on the same painting, one has to wonder if you can really call it Koons work.  At the very least those who work on these large pieces should be given credit for the work they contribute.  His series of sculptures Made in Heaven, based on his marriage to Italian porn star Cicciolina, could be preserved as pornography.  He is always looking to shock views and promote talk, good or bad about his work.
            The appeal of his work is to those who want to impress others by saying they "own a Koons."  As pointed out in our reading when he does a new sculpture he negotiates with a prominent collector or museum to own the first in the series, to create media hype.  His work is viewed by many as kitsch and of such you either love it or hate it (Stevens). In the BBC video from several days ago Robert Hughes could barley contain his disgust for this kitschy work, he had a hard time calling it art.
   

http://supermarkart.blogspot.com/2010/03/jeff-koons-and-his-art-factory.htm

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92873040

http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/art/reviews/9172/, stevens

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Jeff-Koons-on-his-Serpentine-show-his-inspirations-and-how-his-studio-system-works/18566, Dannat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Koons

This is a video of Jeff Koons talking about his facory:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XGGe4YXWZU