Work No. 253: THINGS

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Downing Street

The title and content of this sculpture raise questions about the nature of art and the value of works of art as physical objects. Martin Creed has stated that his works are concerned with "nothing in particular". While artists are often expected to have profound and perceptive messages to convey, Creed defies this expectation, suggesting that art has no intellectual impact on the world whatsoever. Martin Creed attracted much media attention in 2001 for his controversial "Work No. 227 The lights going on and off", part of his prize-winning entry for the Turner Prize.

Martin Creed was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire. He studied at the Slade School of Art, London, since when he has exhibited his work widely around the world. Creed is perhaps best known for his controversial Turner Prize show at the Tate Gallery in 2001, the year that he won the Prize. His conceptual piece, ‘Work No. 227, the lights going on and off’ consisted of an empty room in which lights were periodically switched on and off. He followed this up in 2008 with ‘Work No. 850’, an installation at Tate Britain, in which a runner sprinted the length of the gallery’s neo-classical sculpture galleries every 30 seconds for four months. Recent solo exhibitions of Creed’s work include shows in Moscow, Edinburgh and London. He lives and works in London.

Places

Subjects

text-based work

Materials & Techniques

neon, sculpture (as object name), neon sculpture, yellow

Artist

Martin Creed (1968 - )

Title

Work No. 253: THINGS

Edition

1/3

Date

2000

Medium

Yellow neon sculpture

Dimensions

height: 14.50 cm, width: 75.00 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Cabinet, March 2001

Inscription

none

Provenance

Cabinet, London

GAC number

17571