Comments on: Episode 69: Gavin Turk

By: Happy Four Year Anniversary, Bad At Sports! : Bad at Sports

Happy Four Year Anniversary, Bad At Sports! : Bad at Sports — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:10:49 +0000

[...] Gavin Turk [...]

By: shaun belcher

shaun belcher — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 16:01:56 +0000

Turk got very lucky…. five years earlier or later would never have had a shot….

Socialism???

Saachi made his money doing propaganda for Thatcher’s right wing agenda…..

Remember that when you think YBA’s represent anything more than opportunist’s grabbing the ‘blood-money’ and I do mean that literally remember Falklands and Miner’s Strike were not ‘post modern’ irony they were wars in every sense……hence all the irritating ‘business opportunity’ and ‘commerciality’ aspect of their interviews….I believe the U.S. would label it ‘hucksterism’.

footnote……

In early 1980′s grants to working-class students at Royal College (Turk’s college) were denied grants in order for Thatcher to sponsor ‘chosen’ working class students to go to ‘public’ ( our private education) schools….

socialism indeed….

God Bless the YBA’s

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 05:30:51 +0000

Socialist.

By: Duncan

Duncan — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 03:21:21 +0000

Wait… so, I pay money and that makes it worth money? Wait, is everything like this?

By: Colleen

Colleen — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 19:01:26 +0000

as Balzaq pointed out -possibly concept drivien work is more marketable – the buyers has to prove its worth by creating a reasoning for its existence and the reason for existence is validated by its marketablity by the buyers purchase of said art work and by default its value makes the art to be seen as worthy by the industry at large… funny?

By: Mark Staff Brandl

Mark Staff Brandl — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 23:00:16 +0000

Yeah, that is a good observation Ballzaq. It would have made a good question.

By: Mike Benedetto

Mike Benedetto — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 21:10:57 +0000

BahlSahc,

Good point about the contradiction. I had noticed that too and have thought about it some. My thought is his earlier comment was more in reference to immediate gratification. Even when you find the hole, it’s years of thankless work before you’re noticed as its filler, right? I donno.

By: Colleen

Colleen — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 20:51:50 +0000

One of my all time favorites. I went to be still thinking about your discussions. It was wonderful to hear Gavin talk at length and the questions openend a larger dialogue. One question I have is about the influence of John Cage and Duchamp on the YBA group. Gavin Turks is so heavily conceptual as you talked about, to the point where the work is only created in dialogue, such as the Tea ring stain drawings. I cant get over that work that is all in the head has little to no visual and so cant be art but an idea. What can that mean? Does anyone think about this? Are we all too accepting to the point that we forget that its a visual medium?

By: BahlSahc

BahlSahc — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 20:27:15 +0000

It’s funny how KJM went from “doing it because I like to” in the 90s to “I’m filling a hole in the market and exploiting the economic potential of providing product.” in his recent interview bit.

By: Mike Benedetto

Mike Benedetto — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 17:43:23 +0000

I think this interview got particularly interesting when the discussion came to GT’s sale of his work that meant a questioning of the critique the work itself was making. I think this was during the talk of the tea stains.

It’s also interesting to hear the talk of the artist-as-businessperson aspect of the early career of the young artist. It’s definitely something I missed out on as a student, and wish I hadn’t.

Turk obviously got on the Artist-as-Rock-Star path. I’m always jealous and in awe of the folks who do this. Invariably luck plays a part, but guys like this don’t get lucky w/o doing the work (I think Larry Byrd said that). We’ve seen others on BAS, like Joseph Friebert in the far away land of Milwaukee quietly working and working and working; it seems in retrospect that his work ethic really made him. And Chris freaking Walla. In Moorehead. There’s an example of another guy just devoting himself to his work and following leads in a 2006 internet kind of way.

I guess my point is hey the rock star thing is cool, but we on the quieter path have to keep quietly at it in w/ the Buddhist idea of actions w/o expectations of rewards. Or as Kerry James Marshall said in a Reader interview ca. 199-?, (and this is not necessarily verbatim): “I just figured I’d keep doing what I liked to do whether I got recognized for it or not.”

I like the way he was able to talk in that accent the whole interview. I could never do that.