Are You Excited Yet?

There will not be much discussion within these Treasured Pages of the sort of Awards and Fairs with which Art seems to concern itself (except to Scoff, of course). If you were curious as to who won the Turner Prize (primarily a publicity arm of London's Tate Gallery) yesterday, it was Susan Philipsz, a person who "sculpts sound" into "sound installations."

Here's what such a thing might look like:

Kindly give particular attention to the speakers, which are It.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11928557

She recorded three versions of Lowlands Away - a song about of a man drowned at sea who returns to tell his lover of his death - for her installation.

It was first performed beneath three bridges over the River Clyde in her native Glasgow, but for the past two months has been playing in an empty room at Tate Britain.

If you were to watch the video at the BBC link (don't) you might be surprised to notice that someone so intensely interested in Sound is virtually incoherent in her speech.

What does "Sound enhances your sense of the space" even mean, beyond the obvious? It's like saying that "Light enhances your sense of the space." Indeed it does, clever little monkey.

There is perhaps a Clue there, in the awarding of the Prize being handled by Miuccia Prada, a fashion designer. The insulting notion that Art and Fashion (or Design) are in any way connected is one of the Horrors of Marketing.