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Arty ban on beef

A cow preserved in formaldehyde, ran into an unlikely obstacle on its way to a Tokyo museum.

The cow, preserved in formaldehyde, is a piece of art by British artist Damien Hirst's. Unfortunately even 'beefy' art is prohibited from entering the country under Japan's import ban on British beef.

Hirst's "Mother and Child, Divided", consisting of a cow and a calf each sliced in half, is part of a retrospective of Britain's controversial Turner Prize – and its eventful journey illustrates the challenge of taking increasingly complex works of modern art around the world.

Japan stopped beef imports from Britain after an outbreak of mad cow disease there. The Mori Art Museum had to convince customs officials that even the most adventurous gourmets are unlikely to tuck into Hirst's cow.

"I think my staff explained that it's not for eating," said Fumio Nanjo, director of the Mori Art Museum.

Once the cow had cleared customs, another aspect of the artwork turned into a headache for the curators – the formaldehyde solution in which the animals are preserved.

The original cow and calf, which won the Turner Prize in 1995, have started to rot, and the Japanese museum will be showing a new and improved version that is usually displayed at the Astrup Fearnly Museum in Oslo.

It's not the first time one of Hirst's preserved creatures is causing a stir. In 2006, Hirst had to replace his pickled shark, titled "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living", with a new one after the original had begun to rot.

But is it art? Post a comment and tell us what you think about this 'beefy' piece of art.

Disrespectful I find this all a bit disrespectful - yeah let's put a cow in formaldehyde and show it as art. What's next - humans! Art, yah I am sure a lot of skill when into the production of this 'art'. - Jack   I dont eat beef anyway Thank God, I don't eat beef, not for religious reason's but for personal preference. - Carry   Art! Damien Hirst is a Turner winner! People should realise that this is an important part of art - it show the evolution of the art world! The Japanese Museum should be happy that they can show this important work to the Japanese public! - Kyle   alrady done Jack Hi Jack, there is already a guy showing human bodies as art. - Leon   Disgusting This is not art - it's disrespectful to Nature, all the beautiful animals we have on Earth. It's an abomination and Damien Hirst - Shame on you! - Jules   hunter mentality Its maybe only art if you're the first to do it- thereafter it is just a race to go bigger (elephant!) - yuk - tony   just gross I consider myself an artist and I don't find that art - c'mon how far are we willing to push the boundaries of what falls under "art" - it's getting ridiculous. Sure, I'd like to look at a cow and a calf cut in half and preserved merely for interest but definitely not to appreciate as art. What happened to painting, sculpture and drawing? Which one does this fall under? - Shay   killing for art? Why kill something and its baby for the sake of art, disgusting. Not sure where the art is in slicing a animal in half and then throwing it into some liquid. As a vegetarian I find it sickening. - Vic   No its not art Its just sensationalism propagated by the talentless as otherwise they have no means of drawing attention to themselves. The trend towards animal cruelty in 'art' disturbs me deeply as well. - Candida   Hopefully the cow died and wasn't killed... I don't have a problem with killing animals, as long as I, or someone else is going to eat it... But to kill something just for fun, it seems, is just stupid. Had it been for a science experiment, it'd be another story, but this is kinda gross. - Euan   What art? I agree with Vic and Candida - there is no art here - just a lazy attempt by an idiot trying to draw attention to himself. Artists paint or sculpt - not slice animals in half. Thats what we have scientists for. - AS   Art is self expression I believe Damien Hirst is making a bold statement through this installation art. The fact that Damien took the Turner Award reveals that in the eyes of art critics, he is deemed and worthy. - Jody   Stealing Natural Beauty For Art @ Jody: Is an abattoir referred to as an artist? Does a hunter have critics examining the stuffed animals in his study for their artistic value? No, no and in this case of the cow, I also say no. Art is about the creation of a concept, idea, image and -portrayal- of it, not actually taking it out of it's element. Why not build a huge frame around a hill with trees and call it a "Living Painting"? Because that, dear Jody, isn't art. ;) - TaurusaurusRex   Hunter I am a beef eater and a hunter. However, anything that I take life from is for eating. Killing something so that you can just display it i.e. trophy hunting or in this case "art", is just wrong. Even if the cow and calf had died of natural causes I still think this is sick! - Jan   I don't get it I don't get how this can be art. Not that I have a problem with it, but what really is the artist trying to portray? What is the point? What thoughts are they trying to provoke? Oh and for those out there that are complaining about animals being killed for the sake of anything but eating being wrong. Please have a look at 90% of all products on the market and think again. - Robert   cow art If he wants to make art shows out of dead cows, the least he could do was learn the basics of preservation, get rid of the moister to stop rot. Its pretty basic, been done for centuries... Very amateur, and sad that his artwork is such a failure. - idiot   This is so boring.... Wasn't the Fluxus art scene doing stuff like this decades ago already? The Viennese Aktionists too....Apart from being abominably callous it's also utterly derivative and should certainly not have won any awards. Yawn! - Boring....       Name Email Subject Comment