Week 3 - The Walters Prize 2010
1. What is the background to the Walters Prize?
Founded and named by a NZ artist called Gordon Walters. It’s one of the more recognized contemporary art awards where the winner of the prize receives $50, 000 and a trip to the exhibition at the Saatch and Saatch Gallery in New York.
2. List the 4 selected artists for 2010 and briefly describe their work.
It wasn’t to my liking. It was all weird and I kinda felt that I wasn’t really grasping the message.
Dan Arps: Explaining Things
- Mixed media… a.k.a a bunch of CRAP!
Fiona Connor: Something Transparent
- Plastic, Acrylic, wood.
Saskia Leek: Yellow is the Putty of the World
- Oil on board.
Alex Monteith: Passing Manoeuvre with Two Motorcycles and 584 Vehicles
- Two-Channel Video. Shown on Large display screens.
3. Who are the jury members for 2010?
The Jury Members for 2010 are:
Jon Bywater - Programme Leader, Critical Studies at Elam School of Fine Art, The University of Auckland.
Rhana Devenport - Director, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth
Leonhard Emmerling - Visual Arts Adviser, Goethe Institute, Munich, Germany, former Director, ST PAUL St, AUT University
Kate Montgomery - Director, Physics Room, Christchurch
4. Who is the judge for 2010 and what is his position in the art world?
The Judge this year is Vicente Todoli, who once was the director of London's Tate Modern (a well recognized museum for modern art). Vicente Todoli has also directed many exhibitions for many modern artists in the past, making him an idea choice for judge.
5. Who would you nominate for this years Walter's Prize, and why?
Substantiate you answer by outlining the strengths of the artists work. How does this relate to your interests in art? What aspect of their work is successful in your opinion, in terms of ideas, materials and/or installation of the work?
I would choose Saskia Leeks work. It felt quite naïve, but the main reason why I like it was because it reminded me of an old beach house with faded flaking cream walls and the clichéd blue white strip cushions. I doesn’t relate to any of my interests in art, but it reminds me of good memories. I guess the use of soft colours, the yellows, blues purples and whites were quite successful, I think it turned out really well.
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Hey Cory, nice blog!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you on Saskia's work. I reckon she's quite under-rated so I'm happy to see others nominating her. It's interesting that you described the work as naive, and reminding you of memories. This is because her work is styled to be child-like, and based on nostalgia.
I know what you mean about it giving off summer vibes... it reminds me of like, 90s Malibu Barbie haha.
Dan Arps... Dear oh dear. Did you watch his interview? Even he seems to know his work is... mixed media as you put it.
Hi Cory i agree with you about Saskia's paintings. You are right about the beach house. It looks like a relaxing place to me and i like the pastel and bright colors that she used .I was impressed that Saskia is painting her frames too i've never seen this before .
ReplyDeleteHi Cory^^
ReplyDeleteI think Fiona's work is really interesting. She can do very well with glass and metal. The work is putted in whole room, and it fuse with the room. In the room, every thing looks so clean and white. Every part likes copying and pasting from each other.
And i also like Saskia's paintings. The color looks so quiet and comfortable.
Hi Cory i agree with you about Saskia's paintings. But I think Dan Arps will nominated for this years Walter`s Prize.Because I think his work is more of real life. I appreciate his work when the time will give me a kind of brings me to the feeling of his work. I think this gives a more profound thought, but his work is to express meaning, and better understand his inner world.He also used the material goods of life, people can be easily accepted
ReplyDeletei really liked Saskia leeks work, her work is so airy and peacful. i also love work like this that is simple and plane but still drwas you in. i also think her colour pallete was a good choice as pastaly light tones she has used sorta clashed in a good way with the curves lines and proportions
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts on Dan Arps. I don't want to sound like I didn't "get it" - I did. I just disagree with it. His work raised a question - can any regular found objects be put together and considered "art". Well after that, I think it's safe to say the answer is no, because that exhibition was terrible. In my opinion, art must contain atleast one of these factors - 1. a good, interesting concept to work your mind, and 2. be aesthetically pleasing or interesting to work your eyes. This exhibition contained a grand total of 0. Shroud the exhibition in as much arty deep thinking as you want, it was still ugly and uninteresting trash on the floor, with some ET porn on the wall for good measure. I'm sure he has some good older works, but this didn't do anything for me.
ReplyDeleteI though it was interesting how you related to Saskia's works. Shows how personal art can be and how it has vastly different meanings for everyone. I do think her works are interesting in the way they lean towards abstraction.
ReplyDeleteWoW many people like Saskia leek's work. Do you remember the day we had a class in the library? Almost people would nominate another artist for this year.
ReplyDeleteYet, I am happy to look at your description of her work because my chosen artist is also her as well. To describe the colour as 'an old beach house with faded flaking cream walls' and 'the clichéd blue white strip cushions'. I liked that ;)
Why I liked her work is that a sense of her choice colour as soft colour really played well on her painting. even though that is a bit light but make the painting itself feel more powerful.
HOHO Cory i did not agreed with you agian
ReplyDeleteI don't really got what is the meaning of Saskia Leek's works
"Yellow is the putty of the world" because it's just a series of paintings and i did not see what the yellow put something in our world, if i remembered i did see only a few of yellow of her work. However, i agreed with you that she made new form of painting, she painted not only on the canvas, also on the frame.
BUT!!!
I think Fiona Connor will nominated for this year Walter's Prize because i really like the way she played around with a space of gallery. She adapts her work to suite with the gallery and I still got 'Something Transparent', It's a illusion if you don't spend time with this piece you will not get what is transparent. After i drew her work with the wall in my sketch book i came to get an idea what is transparent. It was a construction transparency into the wall of the gallery. I am impressed with this work because she's very smart and playful thinking of how to adapt and flexible of work when it's come to real life, I got an idea of 'We should flexible and adapt to environment and atmosphere in our life to work on and survive. Her work is very impressive to me, and the idea that i got from her something that transparent. And i think she play with the idea of possibility of how we think, I mean like she researched the different point of view before she published her work. Most likely, I think she got an idea from the death of the author and birth of the reader. I really gave her 9/10, and i still got what is transparent to me. This is smart and awesome.