The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse tells us how Ukrainians are reacting to the art of Damien Hirst, and a British poet reacts to the continuing fury over British lawmakers' expenses.
This text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI's THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI's THE WORLD is the program audio.
LISA MULLINS: Just before we break now, here's a snapshot of the art scene in Kiev, Ukraine. Actually, it's the British art scene in Kiev. The Pinchuk Art Centre is hosting a retrospective of works by British artist Damien Hirst. Here's the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse.
GABRIEL GATEHOUSE: There's a vast queue outside waiting to get into the gallery, even though outside they're keeping it deliberately quite empty. You can see most of Damien Hirst favorites here. You've got animals in formaldehyde, you've got skeletons, you've got the spot paintings, the butterflies, and that famous work, 1000 years, the dead cow's head just here, flies feeding on it and then flying up and getting electrocuted. Let's see what the local punters make of it.
WOMAN: It's terrible. Too many blood there and I don't like it.
MAN: But you know, it is live. It is better than some drawing on some canvases, and it's expressive.
GATEHOUSE: So you like it ‘cause you think it's more real than the painting, this dead cow's head covered in flies? But you aren't so keen.
WOMAN: I don't agree with him because I think the butterflies that are upstairs, some are beautiful and it's also life. This is also real life; it's beauty. And this is disgusting, dead cows. It's not for me. Maybe it's for someone else, but not for me.
MULLINS: The exhibition continues in Kiev through the middle of September. Here's another burst of contemporary British art. Britain's new Poet Laureate today added her voice to the hoopla over a political scandal. The British public has been watching in horror as dubious expense claims by lawmakers have been exposed. Those claims reportedly included one for moat cleaning. Poet Carol Ann Duffy offered this couplet in response: “What did we do with the trust of your vote? Hired a flunky to flush out the moat.†And who said poetry's lost its sting? This is PRI.
transcript