FREE! Damien Hirst Opens at Gagosian on Madison Avenue (Jay Z has already seen it!)

DOG STAR knows you were wondering about some of the imagery on the Jay Z video for the track "On to the Next One."  Here in the DOG STAR offices we decided to explain the easily identifiable stuff.


Here is the video:



That diamond encrusted skull - at one point oil or blood drips over the top of it, can't tell since it is in black/white - is clearly the Damien Hirst art world scandal "For the Love of God."  British artist Damien Hirst created a platinum human skull covered in 8,601 diamonds and offered it for close to $100 million.  A group of investors - including Hirst himself - have purchased this "work of art."


Here for NY Times article on the diamond skull "For the Love of God" 


Here for NY Times article on how the making of the diamond skull affected the diamond market 

Jay-Z hired British television director Sam Brown to make something new, fresh and edgy.  Brown, interviewed on Vibe's website (here), explains that he came up with the imagery and deliberately wanted to make an un-hip-hop video (avoiding cribs, girls, but certainly not money!).


Now, Jay-Z and other Damien Hirst fans have a chance to see the artist's newest work on view this Saturday at Gagosian Gallery.  The exhibit called "End of an Era" is FREE, open to the public and runs from January 30 to March 6.


The exhibition takes its title from a sculpture in the show, a severed bull's head with golden horns and crowned with a solid gold disc.  Also included is "Judgement Day," a thirty-foot long gold cabinet filled with close to 30,000 manufactured diamonds.  Now, that's a lot of bling - even for a big star like Jay Z!


Here for Damien Hirst at Gagosian Gallery