Turner Prize dominated by political ideas

The 2004 exhibition was dominated by film and video works with strong political themes reflecting the international climate since the war on Iraq. The Prize triggered debate about the boundaries between video art and documentary filmmaking. Langlands and Bell’s Zardad’s Dog, a film of the first capital trial in Kabul since the fall of the Taliban, caught the media’s attention when it was withdrawn from the show because it might influence the trial of an Afghan warlord at the Old Bailey. When Jeremy Deller was announced the winner critics and the public agreed that the right decision had been made.

Quotes

‘We all have a political or social responsibility. Being an artist doesn’t make you special in that respect.’

– Jeremy Deller on BBC News, broadcast in October 2007

‘Thank goodness someone or some people are challenging the force-fed media images we face every day. Art should be politically charged. Let’s all think.’

– Visitor comment, 2004

‘I think it’s really a tremendous result, not just for the art world but for beyond the art world. It gives out a great signal in terms of what art might be and what it could do.’

– Andrew Renton, juror on BBC Breakfast, December 2004

Other News

• Tsunami devastates South-East Asia
• Abuse of Iraqi prisoners by us military at the Abu Ghraib prison are made public
• Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority, dies in Paris
• Bomb attacks in Madrid
• The Civil Partnerships Act becomes law allowing for 'gay marriage' in UK
• Government introduces top-up fees in British universities
• Armed robbers steal Edvard Munch’s The Scream in Norway
• Renovated Camden Arts Centre re-opens
• Fire at Momart warehouse destroys major British artworks
• Zoo Art Fair is launched in London to coincide with Frieze Art Fair