An all-woman shortlist was recently announced for one of the largest artists' prize in Britain, the Turner prize. The prize of £20,000 to living artist under the age of 50 'for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work in the 12 months preceding May 30 1997', is sponsored by the Tate Gallery, who administer the Turner bequest and house the large collection of Turner's works at the Clore Gallery, and Channel 4, (a TV channel). The prize and the shortlist subject of much gossip and speculation in British art world circles. This is the first time all of the four candidates shortlisted have been women. Last year, however, there was an all-male shortlist.
Is this equality or (sexist) difference at work ? Are women really to be judged as a class of their own ! Is this the accommodation of the reality of women's increasing visibility in the art market ? Or the tokenisation - the defusion of a threat - by the withdrawal of their work into separate scale of judgement ?
The judges this year are Nick Serota, Director of the Tate Gallery; Penelope Curtis, Curator, Henry Moore Institute; Marina Vaizey, art critic and writer; Lars Nittve, Director of the Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek, Denmark, and Jack Wendler, Patron of the New Art & publisher of the art magazine Art Monthly.
Prior to 1997, the only woman to win the Turner prize has been Rachel Whiteread - who recently won honours for her work at this year's Venice Biennale. Notable women artists have been nominated to the shortlist :- Helen Chadwick (1987), Fiona Rae (1991), Alison Wilding (1992), Hannah Collins (1993) and Rachel Whiteread (1991 and 1993), Shirozeh Houshiary (1994) and Mona Hatoum (1995).
This year's nominees are Christine Borland, Angela Bulloch, Cornelia Parker & Gillian Wearing.
Since the Turner prize was started in the 1980's, all the other winners and the majority of those on the shortlist have been men. This is not from an absent of talent amongst British women artists. The sub-text of those nominated to the Turner prize shortlist has much to do with competition between the leading art dealers and the value-judgements made about a national versus international reputation amongst the individual artists.
Previous Winners and their dealers
1984 Malcolm Morley...............................Anthony D'Offay
1985 Howard Hodgkin.............................Knoedler
1986 Gilbert & George.............................Anthony D'Offay
1987 Richard Deacon.............................Lisson
1988 Tony Cragg....................................Lisson
1989 Richard Long.................................Anthony D'Offay
1990 prize suspended for a year, while refinanced and rules changed
1991 Anish Kapoor.................................Lisson
1992 Grenville Davey..............................Lisson
1993 Rachel Whiteread..........................Anthony D'Offay
1994 Anthony Gormley...........................White Cube
1995 Damien Hirst.................................White Cube
1996 Douglas Gordon.............................Lisson
Clearly, there is a long way to go before any kind of equity is achieved ! But one should not underestimate the help that the auspices of a powerful gallery, sharp public-relations skills and the impact of calculated and carefully judged timing of shows around May (when the selection takes place) can have on one's chances of nomination and winning.
After-thought : One of my friends in order to cheer herself up regularly rehearses her acceptance speech for the Turner prize. Can we really say women's work is increasingly valued when Damian Hirst commented in his acceptance speech that his best production in the previous year was the birth of his first child ?
If you have information on similar patterns of institutionalised discrimination, please send them to the editor : k.deepwell@ukonline.co.uk
Copyright © : Katy Deepwell,1997