Is it all just hype? Come on! You can't create an explosion of interest and reaction like that just by hype. Look at the photgraphs. The guy has struck a vein that has struck a nerve. Hello? The real question is "Why has this happened?".

Every generation has a few artists that just burst out of the gates. They seldom represent pan flashes but are generally just what they seem to be: major zeitgeist manifestations.

But when the major zeitgeist manifestation is "hype is all that matters", as in our post-Warhol, Paris Hilton era, the dichotomy you create between representative of the zeitgeist and "just hype" collapses on itself.