About that $100 Million Skull

I count myself amongst those who think Damien Hirst — he of the shark-in formaldehyde — a first-rate artist. His work is shocking, interesting, stimulating, and, sometimes even beautiful. Now he’s sold “For the Love of God” at about $100 million. (50 million GBP.) The work consists of a human skull in platinum studded with flawless diamonds. It’s presumably the most expensive work of art ever created. As a fan of capitalism, I suppose I should be happy that he’s found so much success. But I’m not sure if there’s any way to comment on it except to say that the buyers have got to be awfully dim to think that this is a good idea. the piece is obviously a very expensive, ironic commentary on conspicuous consumption and by buying it, the buyers are. . .well, consuming conspicuously. I can’t imagine anyone really wanting the darn thing at home and I certainly can’t figure out how the buyers could ever recoup their investment.