Jasleen Kaur has been announced as the winner of the 2024 Turner Prize. According to the BBC, judges praised the artist for her “unexpected and playful combinations of materials”. The BBC was absolutely correct in describing the combination in its work, Sociomobileas in “unexpected” — I was certainly surprised to come across a Ford Escort covered in doilies at Tate Britain, a national gallery. And “playful” could perhaps refer to a deceptive trick masquerading as art.
Ultimately, this development is another example of the abandonment of artistic principles that increasingly characterizes public institutions in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1984 to stimulate interest in contemporary art and contribute to the acquisition of new works by the Tate, the Turner Prize is symbolic in this regard.
Contemporary art provokes controversy by its very nature. Artists rework and test the boundaries of established visual languages in order to describe modern experience. Institutions—through actions of acquisition and exhibition—affirm and present certain art historical narratives, and in doing so, indicate value. This is particularly tricky for public institutions, which allocate taxpayer dollars to certain types of art. The Turner Prize is unapologetic in its accreditation of artistic merit: money is awarded each year to four “outstanding” artists, including an overall winner, all decided by a jury.
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