Mark Quinn’s “Siren”… a solid gold contortionist Kate Moss

December 31st, 2008

The piece was unveiled at Statuephilia, a big name art show held at the British Museum in London. I’m sure it made a splash considering the shock value of its material cost alone. The piece is made of solid 18K gold and cost nearly $3 million USD to fabricate, with nearly all the cost going to the price of gold. It is the largest solid gold sculpture made since ancient Egypt. And, to top it off, it weighs about the same as the woman herself. This is what Quinn had to say about it:

“The sculpture is really about whether we make images or they make us. It’s about trying to live up to impossible dreams and immortality … For Kate, she thinks it lifts into her into a mythical level. I think she very much loved it because she understands the difference between her image and her self.”

For me this piece seems to reflect the trend of making sculptures with already expensive materials so that even if they have little other value, they still have monetary significance. (Damien Hirst’s “For The Love of God”, to give an example) Not that I don’t think it’s wonderful, mind you. I think there is more significance to this than the mere opulence of gold. Even just what this says about celebrity worship, I think is an important message. Still… come on guys. Whomever decides to follow this up with their own high capital investment of an artwork is really just milking it.

(more information and photos at SuperTouch)

Entry Filed under: American, sculpture