The Turner Prize 2009 by Danika Druttman
Posted on 28. Jan, 2010 by BrianSimpson in Arts, Community
The Turner Prize 2009 may be over, but I am still thinking about it. While back in London for the holidays, I popped in to Tate Britain to check out the exhibition of the shortlisted artists. To give you a little back story about The Prize, it was founded by The Tate in 1984, and has emerged as one of the most well publicized and controversial art prizes around. Its intention is to highlight developments in contemporary British art. The exhibition itself, is designed to enable the public to view and inspire dialogue about the work of the shortlisted artists. Over the years the Turner Prize has developed a reputation for encouraging the debate ‘is it art?’ with their annual pickings. YBA’s (Young British Artist’s) have over the years populated a notable percentage of the artists included (Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley, for starters). They sculpted and ultimately iconicized the 1990′s British contemporary art scene; high on volume, charisma and ‘boxless ideas’, Sensationalist is a word often used to describe the YBA’s and their art.
In spite of The Turner Prize’s reputation, 2009 can not be described as loud. I thought it was elegant and thoughtful; here are the pieces that I enjoyed the most.
Lucy Skaer
The skull of a sperm whale is no doubt breathtaking in its own right, however, I feel like the point of this piece was more to do with the art of viewing. Being forced to see the piece in stages, through slits in the wall, slowed down the viewing experience. Certainly in my case, the effect was that it made me look, REALLY look, at Skaer’s work. As a result I can say that this was my favorite piece. I invested the most of myself into the experience, in order to attempt to grasp the meaning of this work.
Richard Wright (winner)
What a grand number, yet delicate, subtle and mortally beautiful. Mortal is an appropriate word to use, Wright’s work is painted straight onto a wall, and when the show closes, the piece is painted over (the same goes for the exhibited piece at Tate Britain). The ephemeral quality represents a rebellion against the art institution yes, clearly, but for me personally, it was a curious experience to know that this was almost definitely the last time I was ever going to see this work again. It may be a shout, but I am going to suggest it anyway, many types of beauty are fleeting, yet this is also the type that is most memorable, and that is how I feel about this work.
This makes me think of an artist that we will be showing at The LAB in April, Morgan O’hara. Her work also has this finite quality, it lives for as long as it remains on the wall and once it has been painted over, we must rely on our memories and documentation to refer back to her work of art.
Lastly, you’ll see in the video that I included a little footage of the message boards, intended for the public to voice their opinions. What a pleasure to take the time to read through people’s thoughts, be them honest, funny, unimpressed, thrilled, and everything in between. To me, it highlights the continued importance of dialogue about contemporary art, whether you are in it or not.
About > Danika Druttman
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