"Death is a central theme in Hirst's works... He has also made 'spin paintings', created on a spinning circular surface, and 'spot paintings', which are rows of randomly colored circles created by his assistants." (Wikipedia: Damien Hirst, 8.19.21 UTC 18:28)The rest of this post is some quotes from Hirst.
Good art
"Great art - or good art - is when you look at it, experience it and it stays in your mind. I don't think conceptual art and traditional art are all that different." (Quoted in Art Is Childish and Childlike by Elizabeth Day)
"I think it's just, I really enjoy art, and I just hope that when people come and see the exhibition, I want them to be just grabbed and thrown around a bit by visual things." (Quotetab.com)
Art creation
"I think as an artist you have to reinvent yourself every day." (AZQuotes.com)
"It's very easy to say, 'I could have done that', after someone's done it. But I did it, You didn't. It didn't exist until I did it." (AZQuotes.com)
"When you've just done it, you're not sure. But when you've sat with it for a couple of hours and you don't want to do anything more to it, that's a great feeling. It can stand on its own two feet." (AZQuotes.com)
Art prices
"I can't wait to get into a position to make really bad art and get away with it. At the moment if I did certain things people would look at it, consider it and then say 'f off'. But after awhile you can get away with things." (Quoted in Why it's OK Not Like Modern Art by Julian Spalding)
"You'd never look at a Rembrandt and say, 'That's just wood and canvas and paint - how much?!' It's all about how many people want it." (Quotetab.com)
"A painting probably is the most shocking increase in value, from what it costs to make to what you sell it for." (AZQuotes.com)
Death
"I was taught to confront things you can't avoid. Death is one of those things. To live in a society where you're trying not to look at it is stupid because looking at death throws us back into life with more vigor and energy. The fact that flowers don't last forever makes them beautiful." (AZQuotes.com)
"The goal in life is to be solid, whereas the way that life works is totally fluid, so you can never actually achieve that goal." (AZQuotes.com)
"Art is the closest you can get to immortality, though it's a poor substitute - you're working for people not yet born - and people want it because it is brilliant." (AZQuotes.com)
