left arrow BackNext right arrow
< BACK TO Fresh Intelligence

Hirst Skull Rip-off Artist is Bedazzling

peterfuss_070307_fresh.jpg
GEM ROUTINE Peter Fuss's skull
Love skulls and diamonds but don't have $100 million to spare? Never fear, the Damien Hirst skull knockoff has arrived!

On June 21, Hirst became the world's most expensive living artist, when Lullaby Spring—essentially a neon pill cabinet—sold to an anonymous bidder at Sotheby's for $19.2 million. Unfortunately, his record-breaking sale still hasn't helped him find a buyer for his $100 million, diamond-encrusted skull piece, For the Love of God. Not even George Michael had enough faith to go through with the purchase.

But consumers in search of a more affordable sparkly human head need look no further than Polish artist Peter Fuss, whose
For the Laugh of God is made of a plastic skull covered in shards of glass and missing a tooth. For only $2,000 (and only $2 for a graphic print of the work), Fuss's skull is fine art for the masses.

Fuss and Hirst might be laughing all the way to the bank with their creations, but at least one person has been left in the lurch by this whole blinged-out cranium affair. John LeKay, a London artist, and Hirst's long-time friend, claims to have made a batch of gemstone skulls way back in 1993. "My stuff with crystals took a lot of research," he tells the press. "You don't just get there. [Hirst] is a lazy artist." Price tags of $20 million per piece will do that to you.

Advertisement