The Toss of a Coin
I really hope you read about this little scandal in the art world last week, because it was FUNNY. At least… I think it was. I may have been delirious/unsocialised after being cooped up in the house with a cold for much of the week, frustratedly staring through blurry eyes and sneezes at what appeared to be a very interesting and relevant essay on digital photography. It was pixelated through my tears - very relevant.
You know how things are funnier when you’re like that. Right? Riiiight?
ANYWAY! This is funny. Okay. So. Around this time of year there is a series of very special prizes awarded through the Art Gallery of New South Wales. We’re talking about the Archibald Prize, the Wynne Prize and the Sulman Prize. Each of them have a list of quite strict criteria and are judged by carefully selected panels of judges. These prizes are highly sought after because of their prestige and their publicity.
You probably already heard that the Archibald went to Ben Quilty’s portrait of Margaret Olley. This made me very happy.
There is often a lot of controversy surrounding the Archibald, and last year it was the Wynne that caused the stir. But this particular year it was the deciding of the winner of the Sulman Prize that has prompted all the fuss.
Read this short blog post on Crikey.com.au for the full rundown.
This is my favourite bit:
Bell picked 29 finalists out of 633 entries — over two-thirds of his selections contained animals. He said: “I like animals. I was tempted to put in all animals. I was going to make that the criteria but I had to choose some of my friends.”
When questioned as to whether this was an appropriate way to compile the shortlist, Bell apparently responded, “Don’t you like animals?”
He then decided on the winner by tossing a coin in the air and choosing the work that the coin landed closest to. And this was the lucky winner.
Bell himself is known for his satirical works, challenging the Anglo-Australian system of deciding ‘good’ art as well as the taboo nature of critical discussion of Indigeneity in art and the stereotype of the ‘Aboriginal artist’. He is most well-known for his work Aboriginal art - it’s a White Thing. Visitors to GoMA’s 21st Century exhibition will have seen his work Bell’s Theorum (Trikky Dikky and friends) 2005. So really, this decision to flip a coin for the winner of the Sulman Prize should come as no surprise: it is a comment by Bell on the way these things are decided more generally, in his opinion.
And it’s an interesting point. As well as being quite funny.
