The Turner Prize: Translated
Michael Calwell
Jim Lambie takes the ephemera of modern life and transforms it into
vibrant sculptural installations. Working with items immediately to
hand, as well as those sourced in second-hand and hardware stores, he
resurrects record decks, speakers, clothing, accessories, doors and
mirrors to form sculptural elements in larger compositions. Lambie
prioritises sensory pleasure over intellectual response. He selects
materials that are familiar and have a strong personal resonance, so
that they offer a way into the work as well as a springboard to a
psychological space beyond.
Translation:
Jim doesn't have much in the way of an intellectual dimension and his
"art" reflects that. However, he's confident that having spent a fiver
in tat from junk shops and gluing it together, he could make a small
killing if the judges can convince themselves that what they've
solicited has any meaning. If former years are anything to go by, it's a
fiver well extracted from the Arts council.
2: Darren Almond
Darren Almond uses sculpture, film and photography, and real-time
satellite broadcast to explore the effects of time on the individual.
Harnessing the symbolic and emotional potential of objects, places and
situations, he produces works which have universal as well as personal
resonances.
Translation:
Darren doesn't possess any genuine artistic skills. When we say
sculpture, what we mean is the ability to throw a welder a couple of
ideas and leave him to get on with it. When we say film, what we mean is
he can point a video camera... you get the picture. His business skills
are finely honed however, and he reckons on the "real time satellite
broadcast" being a sufficient gimmick to delude the judges that his work
tells us something, however mediocre, about the human condition.
Gillian Carnegie
Gillian Carnegie works within traditional categories of painting - still
life, landscape, the figure and portraiture - with a highly accomplished
technique. Yet while apparently following the conventions of
representational painting, Carnegie challenges its established languages
and unsettles its assumptions. Carnegie often works in series, returning
to the same subject but varying her approach each time. Her ongoing
series of ‘bum paintings’ are experiments in composition, light, colour
and technique.
Translation;
We bunged this one in just to throw you. She can paint, kind of. But
what would an artist be if they weren't challenging? Challenging what
and for why, well, let's not go there, the main thing is that they're
"challenging". Yes, she's repetitive, and although still experimental up
for a prize. But then, that's all part of the predictably pseudo
subversive charade.
Simon Starling
Simon Starling is fascinated by the processes involved in transforming
one object or substance into another. He makes objects, installations,
and pilgrimage-like journeys which draw out an array of ideas About
nature, technology and economics. Starling describes his work as ‘the
physical manifestation of a thought process’, revealing hidden histories
and relationships. For Tabernas Desert Run 2004, Starling crossed the
Tabernas desert in Spain on an improvised electric bicycle. The only
waste product the vehicle produced was water, which he used to paint an
illustration of a cactus. The contrast between the supremely efficient
cactus and the contrived efforts of man is both comic and insightful,
highlighting the commercial exploitation of natural resources in the
region.
Translation:
Quite what the merits of physically manifesting a thought process are
remains unclear; notwithstanding Simon has seen fit to waste enormous
quantities of his life to do just that. And that, ladies and gentlemen,
no matter how idiotic or pointless, no matter how crass the original
idea, such a stunt merits this person's inclusion in the prize.
HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK
"Michael Calwell" <fac@fac> wrote in message
news:435547f4$0$18200$db0f...@news.zen.co.uk...
No, she's in here cos she's a woman. Women are still allowed to paint
traditionally because their gender usurps the reactionary nature of
painting.
That's what goes on in Serota's head.
ROBBIE
Miffy
morning!
Miffy.