Nobody (and I mean nobody) in the art world is as good at garnering publicity as Damien Hirst (who recently had a show right here in Portland). His latest headline-grabbing piece, called “For the Love of God,” is the most expensive piece of contemporary art in history. It’s an 18th century skull covered in diamonds, and has a price tag of $100 million. (Read all the details here.)

My eyes almost rolled out of my head when I first read about the piece, but the more I think about it, the more I warm up to it. The art world is in an absolute frenzy right now, with auction records popping off left and right, and artists straight out of grad school selling work in the six figures. Hirst’s piece demands the question: “So you really buy into needing the flashiest, the most famous, the most exclusive, and the most expensive? Then for the love of god, here it is. PS—You’re still going to die.”