Early last December Mark Wallinger was announced as the 2007 Turner Prize winner. The prize is awarded annually to an artist under the age of fifty and working in Britain, for a work shown in the previous twelve months. As one of the world’s most prestigious and high profile art awards, the announcement of the winner is usually met with a fair amount of debate. Wallinger won for his work State Britain, a replica of an anti-war protest. Peace campaigner Brian Haw has been protesting in Parliament Square everyday for over six years. Wallinger’s work recreated every aspect of his protest including banners, photographs and messages of support that Haw has received. I’m not usually a fan of overtly political art, but I think this is a nice blurring of the personal/political.
A new collection of essays, The Turner Prize and British Art looks at the role the prize has played in the development of British art. One of the most interesting pieces has past recipient Grayson Perry and authors Lionel Shriver and Mark Lawson discussing how receiving an award impacts on an artist’s career. Perhaps it’s not surprising to find the effects are not all positive, and many artists suffer from a fallow period after a win.
More information and great images of past Turner winners can be found on the Tate Britain website.
