Now, if I said the name ‘Turner’, would it mean anything to you? Well, you

may have heard of JMW Turner, a famous English painter from the 19th

Century. But if you read a British newspaper, you’re more likely to read about

The Turner Prize, which is an art prize named after the painter. Every year a

British-based artist under the age of fifty wins The Turner Prize, which this

year is £25,000.

Well, despite the fact that the prize is named after JMW Turner, there are no

painters on this year’s shortlist.

We're going to hear a clip of Rachel Campbell-Johnston, the Chief Art critic at

The Times newspaper. She’s describing the work of one of the short-listed

artists, Zarina Bhimji. Don’t worry if you can’t understand the clip, because

it’s fast and there are a lot of hard words in there. I just want you to try to hear

what kind of objects Zarina Bhimji has made.

Rachel

CampbellJohnston

 

(RCJ):

Very lyrical, very evocative photographs of lost things, of memories, ordinary

things drenched in light which suddenly take on overtones of loss and

displacement and presences that have vanished.

 

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William: Listen again and remember, Zarina Bhimji is not a painter, so what is it that

she’s created?

RCJ: Very lyrical, very evocative photographs of lost things, of memories, ordinary

things drenched in light which suddenly take on overtones of loss and

displacement and presences that have vanished.

William: Well there was a lot of description in that clip, but Zarina Bhimji has made

photographs, ‘Very lyrical, very evocative photographs of lost things’.

‘Evocative’ is an adjective describing something that makes you remember

other things. For example, you might be in a restaurant and suddenly hear very

evocative music, which reminds you of an old friend. There’s a verb form too -

we can say, ‘the music evokes memories’.

Rachel Campbell-Johnston used another adjective: ‘lyrical’. This word is used

to describe works of art which express emotion very beautifully.

These very lyrical, very evocative photographs, Rachel Campbell-Johnston

says, are of ‘ordinary things’ which take on overtones of loss and displacement.

An overtone is a meaning that is not openly stated, but suggested or hinted at.

So the photographs are of things that hint at loss and displacement, that evoke

memories of loss and displacement.

RCJ: Very lyrical, very evocative photographs of lost things, of memories, ordinary

things drenched in light which suddenly take on overtones of loss and

displacement and presences that have vanished.

STING 

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William: Now let’s listen to Rachel Campbell-Johnston’s description of the work of

another short-listed artist, Nathan Coley. Do you know the word ‘camouflage’?

Camouflage is a way of hiding soldiers or equipment by making them look like

the things around them. So forest camouflage is very green and has leafy

patterns. But what’s ‘dazzle camouflage?’ Listen carefully.

RCJ: He’s done a series of pieces which he uses the dazzle camouflage that the ships

used during the war to disguise themselves against the ocean so huge bulks

could be disguised…

William: She said that ships used dazzle camouflage during the war to disguise

themselves against the ocean. When British people say ‘the war’ they often

mean the Second World War – and I think that’s what Rachel CampbellJohnston

is talking about here.

So – dazzle camouflage is a special kind of camouflage for ships. Next, see if

you can hear what the artist, Nathan Coley, has done with dazzle camouflage:

RCJ: He’s done a series of pieces which he uses the dazzle camouflage that the ships

used during the war to disguise themselves against the ocean so huge bulks

could be disguised, he’s dazzle camouflaged synagogues and mosques, with a

fairly obvious metaphorical meaning, this is a spiritual or religious present

which is half camouflaged but the dazzle camouflage actually makes it more

obvious.

William: She says Nathan Coley has dazzle camouflaged synagogues and mosques. Why

has he done this? Well, Rachel Campbell-Johnston thinks that the meaning is

that we live in a religious time, but this fact is half-hidden. Ironically, the

camouflage looks so strange on religious buildings that it becomes more

obvious. Listen again: 

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RCJ: He’s dazzle camouflaged synagogues and mosques, with a fairly obvious

metaphorical meaning, this is a spiritual or religious present which is half

camouflaged but the dazzle camouflage actually makes it more obvious.

William: Now if this sounds unbelievable, you can see a picture of a camouflaged

model of a church by Nathan Coley by following a link on the

Entertainment website on BBC Learning English dot com. Just ask yourself:

What would JMW Turner think of that?