Turner Prize 2007

Zarina Bhimji, Nathan Coley, Mike Nelson, Mark Wallinger
Tate Liverpool (19th October 2007 – 13th January 2008)

Reviewed by Alison Cornmell

This year Tate Liverpool hosts the Turner Prize, for the first time London will not present it. For the city of Liverpool to have such a prestigious and renowned art prize exhibition is an honour for both the city and the gallery.

As you can imagine the prospect of seeing an exhibition of such calibre filled me with excitement, even as I walked through a rainy Sunday. I was going to see a collection of art created by four talented artists who had been selected to present their work.

Almost instantly the exhibition was not what I expected or hoped for. On the whole it seemed to be completely uninspiring; although I did have a feeling of annoyance at having to make the journey into town on this miserable day. In fact the whole experience annoyed me. This was mainly due to the proportion of gallery goers who were decidedly pretentious. I saw at least one man stroke his chin, as he did so I could almost hear his pompous inner monologue as he admired the beauty and skill of a pile of twigs. And the gentleman with his jumper slung casually round his shoulders in true man-about-town fashion, seemed to greatly appreciate a hole in a wall.

However the polar opposite to these characters was the woman who classically said, “Have I missed something?” I felt her anguish. Had a plethora of meaning escaped me? Was I a dense uneducated fool who didn’t know good art when it dressed itself up as a bear?

Perhaps I am. I know I am no expert when it comes to art but I do know that it’s supposed to interact with its viewer. Surely art should provoke some kind of reaction good or bad and at best cause controversy. However I was left with a feeling of sheer indifference. And to me this is a huge shame. It should have been a pre-curser to all the activities that await us in the New Year of 2008 but instead it seemed to be a huge anti-climax.

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Comments:

Comment left by hats off on 6th November, 2007 at 15:17
capital of culture???? see Nina Edge at the Turner prize .... www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXSobteL0L8 least it was a bit more riveting, although half the guests thought it was part of the evenings art ?? !!

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