Letter: HIrst's cow

From Mr W. K. Harper

Sir: In her eulogy of Damien Hirst's work (29 November) Louisa Buck says "he produces images that lodge themselves in the psyche ... at the same time mundane and massive ... spectacle with profound meditations ... his work grabs you by the throat ... it proves that art can be funny, poetic and profound ... it is as simple or as complex as you want it to be." All this in praise of a blown-up textile pattern or perhaps an arrangement of Smarties done in an idle moment? Very profound.

Incidentally, how does a calf preserved in "deadly poison" have "eternal life"?

Yours sincerely,

W. K. Harper

Tunstall,

Stoke-on-Trent

9 November