It's about time a transvestite potter won the Turner Prize (npc)
Hookakat2
, The Western Mail
A TRANSVESTITE potter who decorates vases with images of sex and child abuse
last night landed the art world's most notorious award The Turner Prize.
Grayson Perry, 43, collected the Ł20,000 prize at a ceremony at Tate Britain in
London, dressed as his alter ego, Claire.
The decision to grant Perry the award marks a rare Turner victory for
traditional arts, as the winner puts his own spin on an ancient decorative
form. Collecting the prize, a delighted Perry said, "It's about time a
transvestite potter won the Turner Prize.
"I think the art world had more difficulty coming to terms with me being a
potter than my choice of frocks," he joked. The prize is often criticised for
promoting the avant garde over the genuine skill and eye of an artist.
Judges deliberated for around four hours to choose Perry, who was wearing a
patterned lilac satin knee length dress with a high waist and puffed sleeves at
the ceremony.
The Chelmsford-born winner, a married father of one, is best known for his
classically shaped vases, which he intricately paints with figures, patterns
and text. Subjects include autobiographical images of himself, Claire and his
family, as well as examinations of cultural stereotypes. I Was An Angry Working
Class Man (2001) saw him presenting images of motorbikes, pub signs and other
images of manhood, and in We've Found The Body Of Your Child (2000) he portrays
the horror of child abuse within the home.
He has said, "A lot of my work has always had a guerrilla tactic, a stealth
tactic. I want to make something that lives with the eye as a beautiful piece
of art, but on closer inspection, a polemic or an ideology will come out of
it."
The jury - led by Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota - said they "admired his
use of the traditions of ceramics and drawing in his uncompromising engagement
with personal and social concerns".
Also up for the prize were favourites Jake and Dinos Chapman, Anya Gallaccio
and Willie Doherty. The Turner Prize is awarded to a British artist under 50
for outstanding work in the previous 12 months. It aims "to promote public
discussion of new developments in contemporary British art".
thrive,
kris
"I mock your value system, you also appear foolish in the eyes of others. Past
instances in which I have professed to like you were fraudulent! I engaged in
sexual intercourse with your wife and/or significant other."