PRUNING TREES 3

Me: ‘I’m following you – and I see that it wouldn’t be a valid reading if Hirst wasn’t already bound up in all this stuff by his past and various statements about an obsession with death. He’s recently said that he’s stopped worrying about what Art is – but that’s an answer of course to all those screaming Artsters who must get on his nerves. Hey Doc, at his prices they can get on my nerves all they like – but seriously, when you look at the work and its climate, it’s plain to see why he must take up that position sooner or later. The truth of it for me is that Art wearies and wilts under his - ham fisted and po-faced works. The point being, that he himself isn’t po-faced at all, he goes out of his way not to be, he plays the uncaring Jester to the hilt like some rocking art barbarian who thinks he has the ‘common touch’.
It was the Docs turn to laugh now.
Dr Franklyn: ‘ Very good, and yes I think he’s ham fisted too if I must express a personal opinion directly – but I do believe that luckily for him, and plenty of others in on the big art grab of this century; that there is hardly any critical opinion from a Modernist viewpoint, and probably any other viewpoint, that can survive in that Torricellian gap fashionably inhabited by Post Modernist ideas. Who can?...even Brian Sewell can’t penetrate it!!!... and that’s some jazz!.’ Laughing.
Me: ‘Who can indeed; Time will out, as they say, but it’s also symptomatic of these times - who could be bothered and to what purpose? I would very much like to hear Prof George Steiner’s take on it, I've read ‘Real Presences’ a few times and it’s still completely absorbing – or the philosopher Paul Virilio – Peter Fuller would have been good, but sadly he was killed in a traffic accident, blimey there are lots of takes I’d like to hear….’ Laughing ‘ but yours is pretty good Doc…‘
Dr Franklyn: ‘ Thank you - Yes, I remember that happening – Fuller was a sad loss to art criticism, but for the job in hand I can’t help feeling that ,for all his academic jousting, he was just-too nice.’