I’m writing this blog while watching the Turner Prize 2015 (the arty people are debating the nominees at the moment). I wrote about the nominees when the short list came out. At that time I thought that Assemble were the most deserved winners. I still hold by that. I love the idea of a group of people who are all about anonymity and bringing art to everyone getting recognition from the wider art world.
My second favourite for the prize is Bonnie Camplin for the piece’s blending of thought and words with art. Her art piece is a study centre where visitors can go to listen, read and think about conspiracy theories. It straddles a large number of disciplines and scholarly fields.
All of the nominees sit even further from traditional art than ever before (perhaps Nicole Werner’s coats and chairs is the most conventional art piece). Janice Kerbel’s work is sound based, playing on conventional ideas of narrative.
All four nominees are examples of the further blending of art, objects, and people that is happening at the moment. The idea that art is something the viewer is separate from and they passively experience is no longer relevant. Even the idea that art is something the viewer can actively experience is getting a little old hat. All of these art pieces are much more immersive than that. Art and humanity are now much more blended together. The art object is not a distant, separate thing.
And the winner is…