Songs of Lament: Susan Philipsz wins The 2010 Turner Prize

Like the banshee of Irish and Scottish legend, Scottish artist Susan Philipsz keens songs of lamentation and loss that haunt those within hearing of the “sound sculptures” centered on her voice. For those unforgettable installations, Philipsz has won the 2010 Turner Prize, the most prestigious British contemporary art award and one of the biggest life-changing achievements an artist can realize today. Her win marks a strange milestone for The Turner Prize in that the intangible medium of sound has joined film, sculpture, and painting—the medium of choice for the prize’s namesake, J.M.W. Turner—as acceptable conduits for creativity. Some see crossing that barrier as going too far and raise their own hue and cry. But outside of the prize-awarding festivities, a different song of lamentation could be heard—the mourning over the impending death of the arts in England. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Songs of Lament."

[Image: Susan Philipsz. Lowlands 2008/2010. Clyde Walkway, Glasgow. © The artist, courtesy Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art. Photo: Eoghan McTigue.]

The Crazy World of the Turner Prize

In the March 19, 2007 issue of The New Yorker, there is an article (not available online) by Sarah Thornton on the Turner Prize, an annual award to an artist under 50 based in Britain who has had an outstanding show in the previous year. The prize is named for J.M.W. Turner, Britain's greatest artist of the 19th century (and I have the wall calendar to prove it).

I only wish art prizes in the United States were as enthusiastically followed. There is betting on the outcome, with the odds varying as the nominees vie for public attention. There's even a television show called "The Turner Prize Challenge," where contestants compete to see who can best explain the artwork of the nominees to the public. Could you imagine a show like this in the United States?

On one hand, I find all artistic competitions to be troublesome, just as I find any "who's the best?" polls to be not very valuable (but that doesn't keep me from following them). The article describes the Turner Prize competition as "a cross between the Academy Awards and 'American Idol'", which should raise some flags right there. But, on the other hand, anything that gets people excited about art, especially contemporary art, can't be all bad.

The winner was Tomma Abts. Her painting Ert appears above.

{BTW--I chose the link to J.M.W. Turner above specifically because it called him "Painter of Light." Take THAT, Thomas Kincade! Of course, I read recently that 1 in 10 homes in America has something by Kincade on their wall, so he's laughing all the way to the bank.}