Turner
Prize: A Retrospective
Except for that one year (cough, 1990, cough, bankruptcy), the
Turner Prize has stirred relentless controversy and debate from
within both art and public spheres since its inception in 1984.
And now, a moment to reflect upon what all the fuss was about
before it all kicks off agian, with the Tate's chronological retrospective
of the 23 winners. With all of them together like this, its an
absolute pleasure to see where so many of our infamous artists
began, to see how they have evolved, or not, and to smirk at the
controversy that they mustered in the past. Here then is Malcolm
Morley, the first Turner Prize winner; here a much less sombre
Gilbert and George, and here a Kapoor from before he filled monumental
Turbine Halls. Here's Gormley, back when his 'selves' stood at
right-angles, and those first, shocking bisections of Hirst's,
and a list that goes on, almost every one a hit.
The
Painting of Modern Life
As Susan Sontag once remarked, when we slip behind the viewfinder
of our cameras we become tourists, examining the realities of
others. The camera separates us from the phenomenological world,
allowing us to observe without the attachments of subjective involvement.
Detached, presumably truthful, reliable, real, such images assault
us from all sides, from snapshots to pap-shot, movies stills to
magazine covers, so that our relationship to the printed image
becomes a rapid, thoughtless transaction. Curated by Ralph Rugoff,
The Painting of Modern Life features painterly interpretations
of photographs from an array of international artists, including
Warhol's unsettling Big Electric Chair and Richter's troubling
Woman with Umbrella, Franz Gertsch's enormous, kitsch masterpieces,
and Eisler's sensual close-ups. Whether based on famed media shots
or informal portraits, the paintings vary stylistically, yet all
work to rupture the ease with which we are accustomed to treating
the photographic image, slowing time back down and reinvesting
it with the wonder that we so often forget.
Time:
Mon-Sun
10am-6pm, Fri & Sat 10am-10pm
Until December 30
Small
Medium Large
Gather together twelve of the world's hottest street artists (and
no, mime is not included) and ask them to submit three pieces
of work each: one small, one medium, and one large, plus one small
object for display in a cabinet or on a plinth. Of course, the
title wouldn't have worked if it had included that last bit about
the cabinet piece, but the idea is still fun; as are the results.
From our own Adam Neate - who usually brings the gallery out onto
the street, as much as vice versa - to famed New York graffiti
artist Futura, French-born, fellow NY-resident WK Interact, and
international billboard 'subvertiser' Ron English, their paintings
have been curated in a surprisingly traditional manner, and yet
their irreverence and power is sufficient that still they crackle
with a tangible energy and vision that is most entirely and delightfully
contagious.
