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Awards
Folk song installation wins Turner Prize
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 7 December 2010
This year’s Turner Prize has gone to a sound installation, which almost makes the crazy art award music news, no? As expected, Susan Philipsz took the prize for her installation piece in which she sang three versions of Scottish folk song ‘Lowlands Away’ over public address systems.
Chairman of the Turner Prize judging panel, Penelope Curtis, said: “Susan’s presentation, both in Glasgow and in the way it transferred to the Tate, was quite extraordinary. The way she’s managed to make you look at things differently by hearing things differently is really quite exceptional”.
Some arty types have criticised the judges’ decision, arguing Philipsz’s work is music not art. One art group called The Stuckists said in a statement: “It’s just someone singing in an empty room. It’s not art. It’s music”.
