Turner Prize 2010, London, United Kingdom
The good, the bad and the ugly
The adage is well worn and familiar but in this year’s Turner Prize 2010, does it hold true? Perhaps a slightly reworked version of this well worn phrase – the philosophical, the candid, the fragile and the pictorial – may shed more light?
Otolith – Philosophical
The ‘Otolith Group’ in this year’s Turner prize collectively bring probably one of the most diverse and rich collections nominated for the Turner prize. The work is witty, provocative, genuine and more than the other submissions makes one think which is the aspiration of all good art. Thought and philosophy to the Otolith group are as the texture of paint was to Auerbach or colour to the fauves. The depth of their film is multi layered employing a complex logic reconciling linear, cyclic, pictorial and temporal aspects in a manner similar to Godard or Marker. One singular aspect of their work is that of derived fictions from reality where more often the reality in their work does not try too hard to exist as a cardinal reference indexical to existing spatiotemporal formations.
Dexter Dalwood – Pictorial
Dexter Dalwood’s offering combines painterly, pictorial, political, and conceptual themes into a highly loaded language with often deceptive familiarity. Dalwood is a DJ, he mixes ideas and thoughts where his set is the canvas. The device of DJ and artist is well suited to his subject matter in fact as a treatment it reciprocates the conscious reproduction of events at one level mirroring the aspect of construction in history. On the surface the work does not even attempt to be finished almost appearing casual, the real substance is off canvas, which is where the allegory and iconography of each piece stand out.
Susan Philipz – Fragile
Susan Philipz, this year’s winner of the Turner Prize 2010 has a very unimposing piece which is subtle and melodic. The practice of the artist is situated in performance art, public versus private, site specificity and the restucturing lived space in real time. The artist uses her voice indeed herself as the vehicle for this experiential exchange. When looking critically at her work, the femininity and quaintness cannot be divested from it as it is so salient as not to be missed. What is refreshing is that her work seems at least to not berate this but promotes it and does it in such a way that there still exists some distance from her self and her work. The work is thoughtful and still resonates within the curatorial gallery framework although the work is essentially site specific.
Angelina De La Cruz – Candid
The work of Angelina De La Cruz has a bold quality that is accentuated by a careful interplay between the familiar and the candid. De La Cruz and her art practice tread on very well worn ground – the indebtedness of her practice to Marcel Duchamp and the ‘ready made’ makes it difficult to appraise in its own right, the shadow in which De La Cruz’s practice resides has probably done more to occlude the posibility of her submission as a real contender than anything else. However its candid quality would be its saving grace. The appearance of this is most discernable in her hybrid ‘found object’ come ‘painting’ come ‘sculptural’ work which at moments elucidate the best aspects of her practice and individual quality.
OUTLINE
A captivating exhibition of artists working in sound, film, paint and sculpture. The Turner prize 2010 features film, site based, painterly and candid humorous art.
www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/turner-prize-2010
written by: Colin Humphrey