Kenneth Lamborn, Sarah Licea, Michelle Faulkner Professor Sarah Newlands Work of Art January 2014 Damien Hirsts

The Promise of Money, 2007, United Kingdom I. Description a. This sculpture entails the body of a black and white cow, hanging dead by a noose around its neck. The head dangles to the side, tongue out, eyes wide open. The cow is in a kneeling position, arms hanging forward, knees bent. A large incision from its chest to its abdomen is open, allowing the innards of the cow to spill out onto a mirror below. Iraqi money is mixed in with the bloody mess on the ground. b. Start thinking now about how you would interpret this work of art. c. What is your first reaction to this work of art? II. Interpretation of Content a. A cash cow is defined as something set up that is guaranteed to bring in loads of money. The war in Iraq has often been called a cash cow, a war that was led by the rich leaders of the invading countries while the common peoples cries against it were ignored. On the weekend of February 15th, 2003, millions of people worldwide protested the invasion of Iraq. Here, we see this cash cow hung to death and cut open, with its guts and money pouring out onto a mirror. The position of the cow as it hangs dead is very submissive,

possibly showing the need for this cash cow to be defeated rather than push violence onto other people. The guts and money spill out of the cow onto a mirror: mirrors represent reflection, and the cow looks away from the mirror with its eyes open. This represents the unwillingness of the rich elite, the cash cow, to look at the disgusting mess that came from inside itself. III. War Art in History a. Art has often been a political statement, especially when it comes to the topic of war. One famous example of this is Benjamin Wests 1770 painting The Death of General Wolfe, a dramatic landscape showing a group of people mourning the death of British general James Wolfe. This is the man who conquered Quebec for the British. In the work, a runner approaches the dying general with a French flag, showing the dying man that they had defeated the enemy. This painting makes a huge statement about war and death the general dies, though his war was successful. The same ideas can be found in Damien Hirsts anti-war sculpture. There are many other anti-war paintings, such as German painter Otto Dixs painting The Trench Warfare, which shows the theme of guts and gore painted into the chaos of battle. b. How do you react to this work of art now that you have been given the context?