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This will Turner my life around
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent2 Dec 2008
Turner Prize winner Mark Leckey is set to hoard his £25,000 winnings as the credit crunch sorts the bad artists from the good.
Speaking after winning the most prestigious prize in contemporary art at Tate Britain, Leckey, 44, said; "I'm going to squirrel it away for these hard times and be sensible. You don't know what the recession is going to throw up."
But the economic slowdown could have the benefit of getting shot of some bad artists - though he refused to name them - who had not deserved their huge financial returns.
"It's been too easy to make a lot of money. Art isn't about those kind of values," he said. Leckey was described by judges as "intelligent, energetic and seductive". His works included a film of a lecture that embraced culture from the paintings of Philip Guston to the movie Titanic and Homer Simpson. He beat Runa Islam, Goshka Macuga and Cathy Wilkes.
Leckey was born in Birkenhead but lives and works in a studio in Windmill Street, central London. He said he hoped winning the prize would enable him to do more ambitious projects in future -such as a TV variety show. "I came into it as a competition and I wanted to win it. The nice thing about the Turner Prize is you get a name and you can ask for more."
He defended the prize fiercely against criticisms of dullness but said he hated the way it was depicted as "all Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin and Banksy". "I'd like people to realise that art isn't just about spectacle and not just about a direct urge to shock and unsettle."
His own work was totally clear. "You just have to sit and listen. At the most, it's like listening to [the band] The Fall. It might be a bit abrasive, but listen and pick it up." Asked what the prize meant to him, he laughed. "It means that I'm the best artist working in Britain today and thank God someone has recognised that."
Musician Nick Cave handed over the cheque and Alison Goldfrapp, Zandra Rhodes and last year's winner Mark Wallinger attended the ceremony.
