German-born artist Tomma Abts has become the first woman painter to win the controversial and ageist Turner Prize in its 15-year history.
The artist, who has lived in Britain for 12 years, beat video artist Phil Collins, poster artist Mark Titchner and sculptor Rebecca Warren.
The judges ( Nick Serota ) said the 38-year-old, who confines her paintings to an enthralling 19ins X 15ins trademark size, had produced “compelling images that reveal their complexity slowly over time”.
Artist Yoko Ono presented the £25,000 prize at London’s Tate Britain.
J. M. W. Turner
( Self portrait, 1799 )
J.M.W quite possibly turning in his grave at the floundering banality of works by the four shortlisted artists in this year’s ageist (under 50s only) Turner Prize. One of whom, Rebecca Warren, churns out sculpture such as this;
MP_6
Read the way these sterile homogenized hulks are unqualifiedly eulogized and given artistic credence in a way that only a clique of self-important cosied-up art toffs could..
The talking heads members of the Turner Prize 2006 jury.
( A guaranteed mutual schmooz club )
Lynn Barber, writer, The Observer
Margot Heller, Director, South London Gallery
Matthew Higgs, Director and Chief Curator, White Columns, New York
Andrew Renton, writer and Director of Curating, Goldsmiths College
Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate and Chairman of the Jury ( what the thin grey boss says, goes )
” Rebecca Warren.
For her exuberant sculptural installations as seen in her solo exhibitions at Matthew Marks Gallery, New York, and Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, and for her contribution to the Tate Triennial 2006. Her works combine a wide range of sources with a strong formal awareness, injecting conventional materials with a sensual physicality to create something wholly new. ”
“Strong formal awareness” – no further elaboration on what might that mean.
Since when was night school pottery class lumpen grotesque “wholly new”?
Serota’s pompously entrenched ruling arts clique seem to excel in courting media controversy via cheap shot shock & bore stuff like Warren’s hideous spew, promoted to swell the Tate turnstile cashbox with the gullible public’s hard-earned.
Or, tipping an upstaging hat to the Stuckists, with the first female painter to have ever won, the abstract painter Tomma Abts was given the prize on the basis of works such as this. . .
Mehm, 2005
Quoting from the Tate website,
” . . .Through her intimate and compelling canvases, she builds on and enriches the language of abstract painting”
Compare that with A19 by L. Moholy-Nagy, painted 78 years previously.
It’s not easy to see what’s being “built on” and “enriched” in the abstract painting tradition…
M.St.M
links;
London Dada Quickview Flikr Stream 2005 – present
LONDON DADA 
Hiya Bev, she is so sweet and reminds me of my grandaughter who has just started swimming leno.nsoAssther wonderful card with great colour choice.Thanks for the chance to win.Love Karen M xx
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ai eu adimiro muito esse beijo dar vontade da gente beijar alguem nesse momento dar vontade até comer a boca do menino ai gente adoogggoooo beijar de lingua
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Pingback: The Ageist Turner Prize | LONDON DADA
She inspired me to do many pieces I would not have the confidence to do without her inspiration.
lisa
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Just for the record, here’s what I said about Abts’ abstracts:
“Her work deserves a prize for vacuous drabness. It looks like doodles done by a lobotomised computer. Even Microsoft screensavers look attractive in comparison”
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Yes poor old Turner must be spinning at mega rpm.
Disappointing and uninspiring was my reaction 😦
You should enter next year but you would have to dumb your work down considerably 🙂
Still £25k would buy a few bottle of good wine eh 😉
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I loved the (Rebecca Warren) sculptures on skateboards, how original.
The most exciting short listed entry, in my opinion.
Until judges of this power of 25,000 pounds giveaway, can reconginse more spritual art. Then todays artists are not going to climb out of the box. Our art world will continue to live in the past along side the greatmasters of begone years.
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Those hideous Warren “casterplast” hulks on roller skates gave just about the best laugh I had all year – seriously.
Spiritual art -you hit the nail OTH!. That’s exactly where NEW DADA want to go.
So come with it R.Girl, let’s have some jpeg thing from you . . .
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Oh Yah! The reaction the art creates within the eye and soul of the beholder.
Hideous? oh yes -:)) but Thats where the beauty lies MstM within the humour; regardless of the creative media used.
Don’t you think ?
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We’re obviously seeing something ludicrous into these sculptures that was not intended by the artist. The wheels underneath are just so as the works can be moved around the gallery.
Warren and the Tate want us to take this stuff seriously,almost worshipable, by covering it in pseudo-intellectual fawning and flowery artspeak.
It’s about the only thing that Serota does well – guild the bullshit.
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“We’re obviously seeing something ludicrous into these sculptures that was not intended by the artist. The wheels underneath are just so as the works can be moved around the gallery.”
Yes I did now the reason for the wheels MstM!!! -;)neverless,
Rebecca Warren: no doubt will not be amused of my eye view. -;) cos she so hell bound to work with the restrictive bounderies of the todays art world. Yes It was fun, certainly not serious and defintally most defintally not worshipable. who do they think they are??
I wonder if the perspective changes when one eye see’s around the “bullshite” and another looks through it?
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£25,000 prize…4 what?
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I think they’re perhaps covering themselves against the Stuckists’ growing support for their “bring back painting” campaign. Also, to give it to a woman painter for the first time in 20 years secures the PC side of things.
The trouble with the Stuckists is that they don’t recognize art outside of oils on canvas.
Stuck in the past, more like.
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yeah, agree with that!
Oils on Canvas indeed…what about mixed media!
Just as much,if not more heart & soul out there in them lonely art studios/kitchens/garages/bedrooms…eh!
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In reality yes, Deany. But the establishment are so far up their own -and each others’- arty farty jacksies, they dare not face that fact.
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Seemed a very weak set of entries this year – the very best of British art – hmmmmm!
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Deliberately unchallenging ultra PC stuff. No one wants to rock the boat – it’s a play-safe gravy train, Phil.
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