1. Damien Hirst’s work is among the most challenging for contemporary art audiences, because of its themes of death and decomposition, and its violently disturbing subject matter. Consider the descriptions of his work and the picture of The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. What meaning do you find in his work? How do you think you would react to seeing it in person? (Or, if you have been to a Hirst exhibit, how did you react?)
2. Discuss ways the photography of Shirin Neshat presents Muslim women far differently than they are typically presented.
3. The Stuckists strove to undo what they saw as elitism and egotism in the art world by returning to figurative painting and an emphasis on producing work that expressed their feelings and experiences. In doing so, they didn’t just create paintings, but also created propaganda, held protest demonstrations, and conducted investigations into the inner works of galleries and museums. Did they help their cause or hurt it by doing so? Can you find any evidence suggesting their efforts yielded success?
