The Blake Prize 2008
Where there's religion, controversy is never far behind. Nick Dent quizzes chairman of the Blake Prize, the Reverend Rod Pattenden, about this year's fiery competition
By Nick Dent
You have to feel sorry for the Archibald Prize. Limited to images of people, it inevitably plays out more like a popularity contest than an art show (Heath, we miss you, but that portrait of you was just tacky). On the other hand, there's the $20,000 Blake Prize, subtitled ‘Exploring the Religious and Spiritual in Art'. With a theme far more suited to unfettered artistic expression, the competition opens up endless possibilities for skeptics and true believers alike.
On 4 September, the 2008 winner will be announced, selected from some 1200 entries. Time Out spoke with Blake Society chairman Rod Pattenden about this year's batch of graven images.
Why all the fuss about Adam Cullen's painting of Christ on the cross? One of the judges, Christopher Allen, resigned on the basis that two of the judges included an artwork he didn't think should be included. Which is an unusually strong stance to take. Adam's been a finalist in the Blake Prize six or seven times since 1998. The actual work is not controversial. It's ugly, but depicting the crucifixion as ugly is quite a traditional idea.
Is Allen a Bible-bashing conservative? He's not a religious judge, he's an art critic. He's made an aesthetic judgement that this work has not got any merit.
The Blake is no stranger to controversy is it? It's probably not as controversial this year as last year with [artworks depicting] Osama Bin Laden as Jesus and a burqa-covered Mary. That story went around the world to 150 newspapers! What this says to me is that images are powerful. Art is powerful, it can affect us, seduce us. So when you put it together with the religious stuff, it is a bit potent.
How did the Blake Prize begin? It was started in 1951 by a Jesuit priest and a Jewish businessman because they were disappointed at the standard of religious art going into the new churches and synagogues being built around Sydney and Melbourne.
So it was never exclusively Christian? Australia used to be thoroughly Christian and the first 10 years reflect that. But then you get the rise of existentialism, the interest in Zen philosophy. Your first Aboriginal works start appearing in the 1980s.
Why was it named after the pre-Romantic poet and painter William Blake? He was a visionary and an outsider. He didn't belong to a particular religious background. He's the model of the wild, visionary artist, so he was a good choice.
What are some highlights of this year's show? One is a spooky photograph by Luke Hardy. It's a hand but you quickly realise it's not human - it's a monkey in a Japanese hot pool, enjoying being alive in an incredibly cold place. Peter Smeeth has done a portrait of [atheist] Phillip Adams holding the Koran, next to a Buddha. Brian Sanstrom's [crucifix-shaped] couch sculpture will be mounted on the wall; it's the kind of couch people have lethal injections on.
The Blake Prize is on from Fri 5 Sep at the National Art School Gallery.