Damien Hirst Away" in 1994 at the Serpentine Gallery in London, where he exhibited "Away from the Flock" (a sheep in a tank of formaldehyde). On 9 May, Mark Bridger, a 35-year-old artist from Oxford, walked into the gallery and poured black ink into the tank, and retitled the work "Black Sheep". He was subsequently prosecuted, at Hirst's wish, and was given two years' probation. The sculpture was restored at a cost of £1,000. When a photograph of "Away from the Flock" was reproduced in the 1997 book by Hirst "I want to spend the rest of my life everywhere, with everyone,
What Is Art? must create to prosper, making for art that is insincere and most likely partisan - made to suit the whims of fashion or patrons. Art criticism is a symptom of the obscurity of art, for "[a]n artist, if he is a true artist, has in his work conveyed to others the feelings he has experienced: what is there to explain?". Criticism, moreover, tends to contribute to the veneration of "authorities" such as Shakespeare and Dante. By constant unfavourable comparison, the young artist is corralled into imitating the works of the greats, as all of them are said to be true