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John Kay

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Well it's coming round to Turner Prize time this year and I was trying to recall a rather perceptive article I read as long ago as the 1990s by John Armstrong in Prospect Magazine about this subject and I googled it, as you do, and I found it again. It is rather long and philosophical but it delves rather nicely into the whole phenomenon of Duchamps and the modern fallacies adopted by the proponents of the present art scene, Brit Art and Conceptualism. I found it very rational and comforting. Tell me what you think, you'll find it on: http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/features/thewholepicture John
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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I will read the article tomorrow, but feel a sort of compulsion to offer a preliminary thought tonight. The Turner Prize is about what is considered to be the cutting edge (whether it is or not is something we can argue about). This alone distances it from normal artistic practice - I don't feel that it has anything at all to do with me - it's as remote as the Nobel Prize for science; wholly irrelevant to what I seek to do. Whether that's a criticism of it, of me, or of nothing particularly I don't know, and suspect that those who administer the prize have a lot of money to distribute but no very clear criteria to decide where it goes. They will inevitably choose the unusual, so far as they can identify what that might be: and where it goes depends upon the constitution of the committee which decides. As such, it has no more value than any other prize decided by a jury in whom one might quite conceivably lack all confidence - which, in their case, I do. All art prize juries are subjective - this one no less so than any other. They should all be treated as lotteries, dependent upon luck, fashion, chance, and at the end of the day, absurdity.

Pat Harrison

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John, Thanks for the link to this very interesting article. As far as I can tell there are now many artists who are trying to reconnect skill and art. https://www.artrenewal.org/articles/Philosophy/ArtScam/artscam.php http://www.academyofrealistart.co.uk/ http://www.angelartschool.com/ http://www.realistartresource.com/ https://realistart.wordpress.com/

Ruth Dolan

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A simplistic view, but to me the word "art" means very little, it is loosely used to describe a particular competence in many activities, for example the art of cake making, wood turning, sewing, child rearing, or of word manipulation, to name but a few of the countless categories which it covers. Visual art, which I take it we are speaking of here, to me, is only worthy of merit if what I perceive whether painted, drawn or sculpted, moves me or exacts some sort of strong response In short, that which makes me pause and look and gives rise to a feeling or an emotion, be it one of delight, dismay or disgust. The whole Turner question, incidentally, leaves me cold, I tend to look upon it as an annual farce where a lot of rubbish is exhibited and a lot of sanctimonious twaddle expressed..

Keith Orange

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It's an interesting article. I think the Turner Prize is past its sell by date - to me it's pretentious and the entries aren't interesting at all.

Rebecca Chapman

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I despair so at the Turner Prize. Each year I follow it hoping to be inspired, challenged and provoked....and yet each year i'm left feeling disappointed and flat by the finalists. I've come to the conclusion it is little more than a back slapping exercise for the luvvies and glitterati of the hipster, Graduate in-crowd. The Turner Prize has become what the X-Factor is to music, and what service station flowers are to floristry.

Derek Snowdon

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Nicely put Miss C
michael

Michael Edwards

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We had quite a discussion about this last year and I recall posting a nonsense poem on the subject - if anyone cares to take a look it's at: http://www.painters-online.co.uk/forum/Topic49604.aspx?Keywords=turner#bm49825

Sylvia Evans

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I went to the funeral of a sweet friend of mine early last year. She was an excellent artist and very innovative an "with it " right up to just before she died. At her funereal I found it interesting to to red in the little booklet about her life that she had won the Turner Prize ...before it became known as the Turner prize. I find this interesting and wonder if any one else has any info re Pre Turner Prize. The funeral will take place tomorrow of a North Wales woman who developed a love of painting at home looking after the children and went on to win the arts accolade that became the Turner Prize. Artist Patricia Pearson, 89, died last week after a battle with cancer. The mother of six, who lived in Llanddeusant in Anglesey for many years and recently in Llangollen, took up art in the mid 1960s. She went on to have her pictures featured in galleries around the world, including at London’s Royal Academy. Her last show was in January this year in Oswestry.

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by NorthLight