Transcript of John Moores 24 speeches
[Loyd Grossman]
Welcome to the John Moores 24 exhibition of contemporary painting. National Museums Liverpool is hugely honoured and excited by its long association with this prize which has never lost its focus on the importance of painting. It's been a wonderful, wonderful partnership for us and one that we intend to carry on far into the future. This year there were 2300 entries for the prize. The greatest number for over 40 years. So we have many heroes as a result of that huge enterprise, namely our judges who shifted through all the entrants. Tracey Emin, Sir Peter Blake, Jason Brooks, Ann Bukantas and Andrea Rose. Many thanks to them. Of course our other heroes are the artists. Not only the ones who made it here to the final exhibition, but the ones who submitted for it. We wish them better luck in the future. We are extraordinarily grateful for the generosity of the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Trust, they are most magnificent patrons and partners and we so enjoy working with them.
We are also very, very grateful to the A Foundation and to our official hotel partner the SAS Radisson hotel. So, welcome to you all, we won't suspend the tension to much longer and to get things going I'm now going to hand over to Julian Treuherz who is Keeper of Art Galleries at National Museums Liverpool. Thank you very much. Thank you.
[Julian Treuherz]
Thank you Loyd. Thank you everybody for coming and welcome to the exhibition. I'm now going to introduce to you a very special lady, Lady Grantchester who is the daughter of the late Sir John Moores. Sir John founded this exhibition in 1957 and we have stayed very close to his ideals when creating this show to bring to Liverpool the best in contemporary art. Lady Grantchester has been a huge supporter of the exhibition and through her family trust the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Trust helps us to make the exhibition possible, with the other members of her family. So please welcome Lady Grantchester.
[Lady Grantchester]
Ladies and Gentlemen of the John Moores Exhibition Trust, I'd like to thank you so much for joining us tonight for the opening of this 24th exhibition. It's always a great pleasure to attend these openings because every year every time I meet so many old friends of the exhibition who have supported us year after year. My father who founded the exhibition, getting on for fifty years ago, would have been most touched by this support and proud that the exhibition still flourishes. Thanks to that and to the efforts of the Trustees of both the Exhibition Trust and of the National Museums Liverpool. But especially to the dedicated work of Mr Treuherz and his team. This has resulted in a steady growth year on year of the quality and prestige of the exhibition. Our Trustees were quite dismayed to hear of Mr Treuherz's impending retirement as his insight and practical abilities have contributed in no small part to this success. I'm sure you will all join with me in thanking him for his connoisseurship and professionalism these many years and wish him every success in the future.
He is going to be a hard act to follow. This year we have another splendid show of beautiful, interesting and innovative paintings. And it's really a triumph that so many refreshing works have been produced in this country and we're very grateful to the artists who sent us such a wonderful selection. It shows that once again Liverpool is at the forefront of all that's best in cultural life. But here I must thank of our generous benefactors, Portia Kennaway and James Moores, for their committed involvement in the arts in Liverpool.
Their splendid contribution has been invaluable to us once again in enabling this exhibition to go forward. I hope you'll be pleased with the exhibition, I'm sure you'll find the work stimulating and will be impressed enough to come again and again and bring your friends. So spread the word.
[Julian Treuherz]
Thank you very much Lady Grantchester and thank you for your kind remarks. I'm not going just yet. I've still got 6 months and even though I won't be on the podium for the next John Moores exhibition for Capital of Culture year, I'll certainly be in the audience.
In a moment you are going to hear who has won the competition this year, who has been selected by a jury. I'd just like to remind you that all of you and everyone that comes to the show will have the opportunity to have your say in our visitor's choice competition. You will find cards at various points in the exhibition. You can fill them in to vote for your favourite picture and we will award a prize to that artist during the course of the show.
You can also take part in our programme of artist talks and tours and there's a leaflet about this which you can pick up. There's also a free exhibition guide leaflet and the fully illustrated catalogue at £9.95. Those of you who have collected those catalogues over the years will know that they give you a wonderful picture of the strength of British painting from 1957. The John Moores is part of the Liverpool Biennial, as you know there is all kinds of works of art all over the city, including right outside the Walker Art Gallery around the monuments. There is a tile installation. The lions outside St George's Hall have suddenly become caged lions. There's lots of excitement everywhere.
We are showing from tomorrow morning a very strange and intriguing installation called 'Insyde' and we've also got works by artists who are part of the Cape Farewell project inspired by the idea of climate change and environmental issues. Now let's concentrate on what you've all come to hear. Before I introduce Tracey I'd just like to congratulate her on being selected as the artist to represent our country at next year's Venice Biennale.
So, Tracey, will you please come up and present the prizes for John Moores 24.
[Tracey Emin]
That was very, very sweet of you Julian, I'm incredibly proud to represent Grand Britannia in the next Venice Biennale. Also I'm very, very pleased to be back in Liverpool again and anybody who knows me and my attachment to Liverpool I'll do anything, any excuse, to spend a few days partying. It's probably one of my most favourite cities in the whole world and congratulations to Liverpool for being the City of Culture for 2008 and I will be here supporting it 100%.
So, this is the bit that everybody's been waiting for. I'd like to thank the Moores family for their constant support, the Walker Art Gallery for being fantastic hosts to us four judges, it was five judges because there's an in-house judge from the Walker as well. I've got to tell you it was incredibly difficult looking at nearly 3000 paintings just on slide form, blinking, like that. Afterwards we just kept saying yes, no, yes, no to everything. The sad thing about this is as I walk around I'm still remembering some of the paintings which we refused which now I think 'that would have looked so great here, that would have looked so brilliant'.
I really mean that, like everybody says, it isn't just the people who are in this room and who are showing here tonight, it's all the people that contributed and I want to encourage as many people to contribute to the John Moores as possible. It is important, it's a painting prize, there's nothing like it anymore. To paint is incredibly difficult, I did a painting MA course at the Royal College of Art and I know how difficult it is to paint because I still try and privately do it in my studio and the next John Moores I will be entering, whether I'm rejected or not.
Okay everybody, the bit we've all been waiting for and I'm actually shaking at this bit.
I'm now going to announce the John Moores 24 exhibition winners 2006. And this is the running order whatever that means, as far as I'm concerned there are many, many painters in this room that deserved a prize.
Prizewinner Matthew Burrows for 'Baptism'.
It could be next time....
Next prizewinner, Graham Crowley, 'Red Reflection'.
In case you haven't noticed it's the painting in the corner, 'Red Reflection.
Next prizewinner is Vincent Hawkins, 'After Paul Nash'.
The next prizewinner is James White, 'In the Basement (Kit II)'.
OK, drumrolls, here it comes. The first prizewinner of the John Moores 24 exhibition in contemporary painting 2006, first prizewinner Martin Greenland 'Before Vermeer's Clouds'.
[Martin Greenland]
I had thought I might be doing this but I wasn't too sure. Planning speeches in the middle of the night and not being able to sleep. I was going to say 'Shucks folks I'm speechless’. And I am really. It's been something that I've wanted to achieve ever since I first came to the John Moores as a foundation student back in 1979, well 1980 it was, when Michael Moon won the first prize and I thought then this is the big one this is the one I want to win and to be here now is quite incredible. Thank you very much.
[Julian Treuherz]
Well thank you everybody. a special thank you to Tracey, we've got a present for you. We've also got a present for Lady Grantchester. And also a big thank you to all the artists, successful and unsuccessful, without you we couldn't do this so keep on submitting in future competitions. Special congratulations to the winners. There's not much left for me to say, most of the works in the exhibition are for sale, some have already been sold. If anyone is interested in buying works there is a price list in the shop on this level.
I'm also delighted to say that of course Martin Greenwood's 'Before Vermeer's Clouds' which is right there, the first prizewinner, will join the collection at the Walker Art Gallery with all the other previous prizewinners.
Ladies and Gentlemen have a look round the exhibition, the bar is now open and special thanks to Cains for providing our beer this evening, Thank you very much, enjoy the evening and enjoy the rest of the Biennial.
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