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The Turner Prize, considered among the most prestigious awards in the art world, went to Indian-origin artist Jasleen Kaur on Wednesday (December 4), for an exhibit that pays tribute to her family history of migration to Scotland.
Kaur’s exhibit was praised by the jury for “(weaving) together the personal, political and spiritual”. In her acceptance speech, she called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Associated with the UK’s Tate Gallery, the Turner Prize has a long history of controversy and is a huge affair in British culture, getting significant media attention every year. We break down why that is.
The prize is named after English painter JMW Turner (1775-1851), known for his paintings of sceneries, the ocean and dramatic depictions of light. Many of his works show red and yellow hues of sunsets in great detail.
Tate’s website notes, “Described as the ‘father of modern art,’ Turner shocked with his unique brushwork and use of colour. His portrayals of the modern world were unlike any seen before. As one of the country’s greatest painters, he fittingly lends his name to the contemporary Turner Prize.” Tate also houses the largest collection of Turner’s works.
The Turner Prize was first awarded in 1984, founded by a group called the Patrons of New Art. It sought to “encourage wider interest in contemporary art and assist Tate in acquiring new works.” Malcolm Morley, the prize’s first recipient, however, criticised it for turning artists against each other like a “blood sport”.
Today, £25,000 is awarded to the winner and £10,000 to the other shortlisted artists. As for the jury, Tate selects a new panel every year. It comprises gallery directors, curators, critics and writers with at least one member from abroad.
The prize is awarded to a British artist working globally or an immigrant working in Britain. Before Kaur, the only other Indian-origin artist to have won the prize was sculptor Anish Kapoor in 1991.
The prize has always been considered a maverick in its championing of art that is conceptual, rebellious, and defiant of traditional modes and mediums. In short, it subscribes to Post-modernism, the 20th-century movement that radically changed many art forms and rejected the conventional understanding of art. Popular examples include Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (a urinal) and Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe (a collection of silk-screened prints of the actress).
That reflects in the nominees and winners of the prize, which have included Tracey Emin’s tousled bed littered with alcohol bottles, dirty underwear and a used condom; Steve McQueen’s short film about a house wall falling over someone repeatedly without hurting them; and Fiona Banner’s wall full of text describing a porn film.
The Stuckist movement, started by the British artist duo Billy Childish and Charles Thomson in 1999, holds annual rallies against the Turner Prize. They champion an “anti-anti-art” approach – a return to traditional techniques of painting, photography, sketching, collage and others in visual art.
In the past, they have mocked the Tate Gallery for awarding a prize named after a painter for conceptual art.
The prize has also courted controversy for its winners generally being represented by one of a few London-based art dealers since 1991. Some, like Jay Jopling, Maureen Paley and Victoria Miro, are closely linked to Iraqi-British businessman Charles Saatchi, who has been criticised for supposedly only being involved in the art world to put up exhibits, raise their values and then sell them.
The winner of the Turner Prize instantly becomes popular, with their work getting pushed into the mainstream art world and selling for higher than before. Some winners, though, have said that the attention has been bothersome.
The prize has also attracted public attention. Channel 4, the TV channel hosting the ceremony, faced censure by the Independent Television Commission when American singer Madonna presented the award in 2001 and said “At a time when political correctness is valued over honesty I would also like to say ‘Right on, m************!’”
In 2002, then-Culture Minister Kim Howells wrote a comment, saying, “If this is the best British artists can produce then British art is lost. It is cold mechanical, conceptual b*******.” Prince Charles replied, “It’s good to hear your refreshing common sense about the dreaded Turner prize. It has contaminated the art establishment for so long.”
