Just what is the Turner Prize for? The early years of the Prize, from its beginnings in
1984 to its sudden (temporary) disappearance in 1990, saw intense debate about exactly how a prize for contemporary visual art should be organised.
One of the first issues was the naming of the Prize. Many people were at a loss to know what it had to do with the early nineteenth-century artist
JMW Turner, and there were conflicting views about whether or not he would have approved. The founders of the Prize, the Tate Gallery's Patrons of New Art, had in fact chosen Turner because he'd wanted to establish a prize for young artists and because, despite being controversial in his own day, he was now seen as one of the greatest British artist.
He would probably approve i think Steve because time doesn't stand still -even though i actually enjoy more "traditional" art, I do try to "see" what the modern stuff is about even though it sometimes goes over my head....
As a footnote my guide at the Dali Galllery was my (then 9yr old) son who'd been on a course, through school, at the Modern Art Gallery in Turin and explained it all to me and was enthusiastic about everything he saw....
