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1 Introduction

The build-up to the announcement of the winner, each year, receives intense attention from many branches of the media, much of it critical, addressing the question "what is art?". The artists themselves usually work in modern forms, including installation art and unconventional sculpture, though painters have also won.

Nominations for the prize are invited from the public, and the short-list (which since 1991 has been of four artists) is announced several months before the prize-giving. An exhibition accompanies the prize with works by each of the artists being shown at Tate Britain. The prize is not judged on these works alone, however, but on the artists' work as a whole over the previous year.

The exhibition and prize rely on commercial sponsorship. From 1987 this was provided by the company Drexel Burnham Lambert; their withdrawal led to the 1990 prize being cancelled. Channel 4, an independent television channel, stepped in for 1991, doubled the prize money to the current level, and supported the event with documentaries and live broadcasts of the prize-giving.

The media success of the Turner Prize arguably contributed to the success of the late 1990s phenomena of Young British Artists and Cool Britannia , and exhibitions such as the Charles SaatchiCharles Saatchi is the co-founder of advertising agencies Saatchi and Saatchi and M&C Saatchi. He is the brother of Lord Saatchi (Maurice Saatchi). He is also famous for sponsoring the Young British Artists and the foundation of the Saatchi Gallery now lo-sponsored Sensation.

2 Criticism of the Turner Prize

As well as typical essay-based criticism, there have been the following less formal attacks on the prize.

• In 1993, Jimmy CautyJames Cauty Jimmy or Jimi also known as Rockman Rock, was born in Devon, England in 1956 and not much is known about him until, as a 17-year old artist he painted the Lord of the Rings poster for Athena. He has continued painting over the years, with his and Bill DrummondCurrently active as a writer and artist, Bill Drummond (born April 29, 1953) is best known as co-founder of The KLF, the avant-garde "pop group" of the late eighties, the K Foundation, its nineties "avant-art" media-manipulating successor, and for burning of the K Foundation received media coverage for the award of the " Anti-Turner PrizeThe 1994 K Foundation award was an award given by the K Foundation to the worst artist of the year. The award, worth £40,000 was presented to Rachel Whiteread on the evening of November 23rd outside the Tate Gallery in London. Ms Whiteread had just accept", £40,000 to be given to the "worst artist in Britain", voted from the real Turner Prize's short-list. Rachel WhitereadRachel Whiteread (born 1963) is a British artist, best known for her sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She is one of the so-called Young British Artists, and exhibited at the Royal Academy's Sensation exhibition in 1997. She is probably, who won the real prize, also won the anti-Turner Prize. She refused to accept the money at first, but changed her mind when she heard the cash was to be burned instead, and gave £30,000 of it to artists in financial need and the other £10,000 to the housing charity, ShelterShelter can refer to several things: A place in which people live to provide shelter from the elements; a house. A place of refuge, such as a women's shelter for abused women or a homeless shelter for vagrants. A shortened name for an animal shelter, whic. The K Foundation went on to make a film in which £1 million appears to be burned.

• In 1999 two artists, Jian Jun Xi and Yuan Cai, jumped onto Tracey EminTracey Emin (born 1963) is an English artist, one of the so-called Young British Artists (YBAs). She is probably only second to Damien Hirst among the YBAs in terms of notoriety among the general public. In particular, her piece My Bed part of 1999's Turn's work, My Bed, stripped to their underwear, and had a pillow fight. Police detained the two, who called their performance Two Naked Men Jump Into Tracey's Bed.

• In 1999 a pro- painting group of artists known as the Stuckists was formed. They show particular antipathy towards the Turner Prize, describing it as an "ongoing national joke" and "a state-funded advertising agency for Charles Saatchi"; they continue: "the only artist who wouldn't be in danger of winning the Turner Prize is Turner", concluding that it "should be re-named The Duchamp Award for the destruction of artistic integrity".

• The art critic David Lee has argued that since the re-organisation of the prize in 1991 the shortlist has been dominated by artists represented by the London dealers most closely linked to the collector Charles Saatchi; Jay Jopling, Maureen Paley and Victoria Miro . This is not entirely supported as the Lisson Gallery has had the most success of any gallery with the Turner Prize from 1991 - 2004.

• In 2002 culture minister Kim Howells pinned the following statement to a board in a room specially-designated for visitors' comments. "If this is the best British artists can produce then British art is lost. It is cold mechanical, conceptual bullshit. Kim Howells. P.S. The attempts at conceptualisation are particularly pathetic and symptomatic of a lack of conviction"