Damien Hirst Quotes

For me, art is always a kind of theater.

Even as a kid in drawing class, I had real ambition. I wanted to be the best in the class, but there was always some other feller who was better; so I thought, It cant be about being the best, it has to be about the drawing itself, what you do with it. Thats kind of stuck with me.

Sometimes when you're drunk you can see better.

Being best is a false goal, you have to measure success on your own terms.

I like the confusion you get between science and religion … that’s where belief lies and art as well.

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.

When we are no longer children, we are already dead.

Death's just something that inspires me, not something that pulls me down. I used to get called morbid at school. I have always loved horror films; I like being frightened.

I did a butterfly show in Berlin, and we had a guy who's an expert on butterflies; who bred them all and who looks after them all in the space.

I can't understand why most people believe in medicine and don't believe in art, without questioning either.

In an artwork you're always looking for artistic decisions, so an ashtray is perfect. An ashtray has got life and death.

For artists it's a lot easier to make art in bad times than it is in good times. When you've got no money it's easy to just drink your way through it and make great art. But if you're making lots of money it can be very problematic.