Tuesday, August 3, 2010

The Walters Prize 2010


1. What is the background to the Walters Prize?


Established by Erika and Robin Congreve and Dame Jenny Gibbs, they named this organization in honor of Gordon Walters, their main intentions was to make contemporary art as apart of our New Zealand culture. The Walters Prize is New Zealand’s most influential contemporary art prize; this recognizes artists that are devoted to contemporary art in New Zealand.


2. List the 4 selected artists for 2010 and briefly describe their work.


Dan Arps: (Explaining Things)

Arp’s works with a range of found objects, such as a cardboard, a string, a newspaper and crafted elements. Arp’s states that he enjoys and likes to use things that is “ready to hand, things anybody could have access to.” (Artists with eyes on prize, 2010)

His intention was to take everyday objects and separate them from their original purpose, to turn them into something more symbolic. They focused our attention towards the “process into making sense out of something” (Artists with eyes on prize, 2010)


Fiona Connor: Something Transparent (please go round the back)

Connor’s work is an installation which fills the entire gallery space; she explores and works with architecture and installation in a space that captures viewers into her art. Her nominated work was a gallery’s front entrance which she replicates 14 times throughout her gallery space; this work also encouraged viewers to see the work reversed by entering the gallery through the back entrance.


Saskia Leek: Yellow is the Putty of the world

Leek’s nominated work is a collection of her 11 paintings, she explores with subjects such as buildings, a sailing ship, a cat, a bowl of fruit and autumn leaves. She states that the painting process in her work is more important than it is about her subject matters.


Alex Monteith: Passing Manoeuvre with Two Motorcycles and 584 Vehicles for Two-Channel Video

Monteith explores around creating scenarios with cameras for her video art, she has a lot of experience and creativity in her work that captivates her viewers by sounds and films. Two motorcycles are simultaneously recorded on Auckland’s busy northern motorway; she says that by doing this work she “was trying to push what could be done in the little space between two rows of motorway traffic”. (Artists with eyes on prize, 2010)


3. Who are the jury members for 2010?

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 appointed judge for the Auckland Art Gallery 2010 is the “highly respected former-director of London’s Tate Modern, Vicente Todoli.” (Judge for Walters Prize announced, 2010)

Todoli has led the Tate Modern through most of his time and from 1989-96, he was the chief curator and artistic director for The Valencia Institute for Modern Art (IVAM).

Todoli has organized and curated well-known exhibitions of modern and contemporary art around the globe.

“he has worked at New York's Whitney Museum, the IVAM in Valencia, and the Serralves Contemporary Art Museum in Oporto, as well as working alongside the ICA in Amsterdam and the Reina SofĂ­a Museum.” (thinkSpain, 2010)


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?


Fiona Connor and Saskia Leek are my favorite for this year’s Walter Prize. Both artists have works that I personally can relate to in my own work, coming from a painting background I enjoyed looking at Leek’s paintings, because she takes an image and develops it into a more colorful and lively abstract piece. Connor’s works however has also fascinated my interests, her desire in working with architecture and space has inspired me more to develop my own work, to further my designs to a career in spatial design.


6. Comment on other blogs from your ALVC group to agree or disagree with other people,always backing up your answer with clearly stated reasons.


References

Artists with eyes on prize (2010). Retrieved August 3rd,2010, from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10660949


Judge for Walters Prize announced (2010). Retrieved August 3rd,2010, from http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1006/S00173.htm


The Walters Prize 2010 (n.d). Retrieved August 3rd, 2010, from http://www.aucklandartgallery.govt.nz/whats-on/events/2010/july/the-walters-prize-2010#The%20Jurors


thinkSpain (2010).Valencia’s Vicente Todoli to leave London Tate Modern in summer.rd, 2010, from http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/17799/valencias-vicente-todoli-to-leave-london-tate-modern-in-summer
Retrieved August 3

6 comments:

  1. My opinion is also in the same way as you. My favorite artist is Fiona Connor who showed her work in the creative spatial design aspect which fully represented both creativity and practical use. I think that most artists who are interested in architecture and spatial would admire her job. It looks simple as you see but full of idea when you come closer.

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  2. Good to hear that there's 3 female artists nominated for the prize this year and its also good to hear that Saskia Leek and Fiona Connor have you interested and inspired you. But those two didnt really appeal to me as much as Alex Monteith with her video. Though there is nothing really bad about the two other nominees as well.

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  3. yeah its great that 3 women were up for the walters prize this year.. goothe girls. anyway yeah alot of the artist didnt really appeal to my personal taste in design but you have made some very good points about the artist charice... great job

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  4. I also liked Saskia Leek's works. I like the abstract flatness and how her colors work together, very aesthetically pleasing and interesting to look at. I think the simplicity of her paintings really helped her work. They were not large, they were made using a small palette and they were flat... sometimes bigger and more complex is not better, and this is a good example of that at work.

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  5. Fiona Connor, Something Transparent (please go round the back)

    I really like this work because my major is interior and architecture design in korea. so I am interested about installation and when I saw works in The walters prize 2010, this work gave to me strong impression.
    That is amazing pieces of public art in Auckland. I've never seen about like that before. it was made with mysterious space which was set by using a piece of trickery done with mirrors by Fiona Connor. Her work's material which can reflect to opposite side, can make marvelous space and we can feel that as if we are in space which has many flanks at her work, one space. Seventeen glass windows and doors are presented long distance that we can't go. After I saw her work, I realized that when I think about space design not only big of huge space can be good. Small space can make big space and small space have hidden many spaces like her work.

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  6. I suppose Saskia Leeks works would look different in person, and I didn't give them much consideration at first. I like her landscape paintings because they are portraying depth of field with flat pastel asymetric shapes and we automatically comprehend that depth though it is not logically there on closer inspection...i still prefer Alex Monteiths works as I think they are more adventurous and experimental than the other nominees. nice blog Charize!

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